Twilight: Bella's New Life
by Amy-Katherine914
Summary: What if Bella was immortal? What if she lived years before Edward? This is the story that tells all. She is immortal, has secrets, and the base line is the same-somewhat. Twilight will never be the same again. DISCONTINUED, POSSIBLE RECONSTRUCTION...
1. Chapt 1: Explaining, First Sight

**Okay, just go easy on me. This story just came to me in a dream and stayed and I wanted to write it down to get rid of it. Just- yea. Hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

**Claimer: I own plot and Toby and the people in Bella's clans as well as her enemy and brother. (Yeah, I know- another Toby. I can't help it. I love the name.)**

**Chapter 1: Forks**

Time to move again; this was the worst part of my life. I constantly had to move to get rid of suspicion. I am currently living with my Arizonian family- well, more like clan. Every 3 or 4 years, we all move.

Sonja, Teddy, and Ariel already moved to New York and I'm moving to Forks- I heard they have good bears and mountain lions and such. Arty and Stan are staying in Arizona but moving to a different city. My clan is huge; we have over 56 people in it. Over the years, we gather and find new people. We all love each other and we grow on one another.

I'm moving to Forks where Toby and Charlie are. Charlie is human but he knows about us because _someone _(Teddy) lost control and almost had him for lunch. Charlie was out hunting deer while we were hunting as well.

Oh, I'm sorry. You probably don't know what I'm talking about. My name is Isabella Marie Carla Swan- Bella Swan for short. I have long, dark brown hair and medium brown eyes- just like my mother had. I am not what I seem- you'll find out later. I am slender, witty, wise, and street smart as well as book smart. I know 54 different languages from traveling. I look human but I'm slightly not.

Everyone in my Giant Clan (**that's the name of the clan- corny, right?)** is a different type of immortal being- from god to goddess to werewolf, etc. But no vampires or Hackers. Hackers are hunters that track us and destroy us hoping to annihilate our race. I'm one of the last shifters. It was my family and I who survived all these years and throughout time, many have changed immortality or switched to being human. My mother was a shifter and my father was human. I had an older brother- Joseph, or Joe- ad he died protecting me- and so close to his birthday, too. There are many shifters in my clan but they have been slaughtered off weekly. There's a new threat out there to us and I have to stop it. I went to Mary our oracle and she said to go to Forks, 'my answer will be there.' So I'm going. We were all moving because the threat- whatever it was- found our house and now we have to relocate for safety. I found out a month ago that shifter blood is more irresistible than any other type of blood.

Mine is especially rich- apparently. All the threats that are coming after us immortals are after me mostly. Shifters, gods, goddesses, and werewolves can actually get hurt and die if we're not careful. Other kinds are indestructible- except to others of their kind.

Well, here it is; Forks. Charlie was there by his car waiting for me at the airport. I walked over to him and smiled as I gave him a small hug.

"Hey, Charlie." I said cheerfully as we broke apart.

"Hey, Bella- or is it a different name this time?" he asked.

"It's still Bella. Where's Toby?" I looked into the car and he wasn't there.

"He's at the house. So did you really take the plane or did you run?" he opened the car door for me and I hopped in.

"I really took the plane. Why is Toby at your house _alone?_ You know what kind of trouble he gets into…" We drove off.

On the way to Charlie's house, it was quiet. It was comfortable and about 10 minutes away from reaching our destination, he spoke; "Okay, don't get mad but… I got you a car."

My eyes widened in shock. "What? Really?" he nodded. "Charlie, you didn't have to do that."

He smiled. "It's the least I can do since you've let Toby stay with me. It's a 'thanks- for- letting- your- son- stay- with- your- mortal- friend' kind of present."

Yes, he did say son. A long while ago- actually, 9 years ago- I was attacked by a mortal and the number 1 rule for my kind is 'don't hurt a human.' I couldn't and after 9 months from that attack, I had Toby. If you think that since I'm ½ shifter, ½ human, Toby will be 2/3 human and 1/3 shifter, you're wrong. I don't know how it works but he's ½ shifter like me, and being ½ shifter makes you more powerful than a full shifter. Like I said, don't ask. Because of that attack, I received the loveliest gift ever; a sweet, little, innocent boy.

"What kind of car?" I asked.

"Infinity G35." he responded.

I did a low whistle. "Nice!"

"And… Toby found a motorcycle in the junkyard and fixed it up. It looks really good- and works amazingly well. I don't know how he can do that kind of mechanics but- man- I am impressed."

I laughed. "He got it from me. My brother taught me how to fix things up."

We arrived at the house and I saw the car. It was sleek and awesome and my favorite color: black. "Love it…" I mumbled. We pulled into the driveway and Toby was sitting in the garage staying out of the rain.

Compared to Arizona, Forks was a giant green mush- I don't mind, though. I jumped out of the car and ran to my baby boy.

He ran to me and met me halfway. He leapt into my arms and hugged me tight.

"Hey, Mom."

"Hi, Toby. How are ya?" I let go of him and he grabbed my hand.

"Pretty good. You have to see this!" He led me into the garage and sitting in the corner was the motorcycle he worked on.

"Wow, Toby! That's amazing!" I knelt down to look at the work.

"I don't know- Something went wrong in the wiring, could you take a look?"

I nodded. "Here's the problem." I pointed to three wires. "These two and these two need to be connected. Not the other way." I fixed them and walked inside the house with Toby and Charlie on my heels.

"I'd love to stay and chat but… I have to get to work." Charlie left to go to work- He's a police officer.

Later that day, Toby walked into my room- Charlie set one up for me and, like the great guy he is, set it up the way I like. "Mom?"

I looked up at him from my book. "Yeah, sweetie?"

"Can I- I mean, would you- um… Saber?" He never knew how to ask to see my dagger.

I smiled and rolled my pant leg up my leg. He sat next to me on my bed. I waved my hand above my shin and my dagger- which I named Saber- seeped through my skin and laid on my leg. I held it up to show him.

Every shifter gets a dagger when they're 11 years old so they can protect themselves. Shifters are born and grow up like everyone else but they stop aging at age 17, 18, 19, or 20. I stopped at 17. My brother stopped at 20 and my mom stopped at 19. Toby still had growing up and aging to do. No one gives you a dagger, it comes from your personality and helps defend you in a fight. On your 11th birthday, it just pops out of you- literally.

"What's it specialty?" he asked cradling it.

"Mm… I think it's distance." Distance is a specialty where the dagger can be thrown very far, hit the target, and disappear only to reappear back in your hand. "Why the sudden interest?"

He shrugged. "Just wonder what mine will be, that's all." He handed it back.

"Just remember, it comes from you. Arty knows explosives and poisons well enough that she became immune to them. Now her dagger is poisonous to anything directed at. Now, go to bed. It's late."

He nodded and hugged me. Then he smiled. "I heard you're enrolling in school. That true?"

"Yes, now are you in school or no? 'Cause last time I checked, none of us need it."

"Then why are you going?" He was serious this time.

"It'll give me something to do- plus it's required by law. You're lucky people think you're homeschooled."

He slugged of to bed after yawning.

The next day I woke early. I got ready and went off to the high school and went into the office. There was a large, red-haired woman sitting behind the main desk and looked up at me through her glasses. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"I'm Isabella Swan." I informed her. She immediately knew who I was- probably a topic of gossip, no doubt. This town was so small there's nothing to do _but_ gossip.

"Of course." she said. She sifted through a stack of papers and handed me a map, schedule, and another slip that my teachers had to sign. I had to bring the slip back at the end of the day.

I looked at the schedule. "Um… can I _not _take Spanish?" I looked at the woman.

"Why would you ask that?"

"Because I already speak it. I'm part Spanish." And Italian, and Polish, and German. Oh, and let's not forget American too.

"You have to take a foreign language, Miss Swan. Otherwise, you won't have enough credits to graduate." Annoyance. Oh, yeah. I can read emotions. Like reading minds only I can't hear the actual words unless I project myself in.

"Well, what if I… help grade papers or something?"

"I'll ask but for today, just go to class, alright?"

I nodded and left.

When I walked outside, other student were filing into the school and I immediately went in as well. My car was in a good spot that was allowed to students and I had everything I needed.

The first class I had was English. My teacher Mr. Mason signed my slip, directed me to a seat and started class. I was sitting near the back of the room and noticed that everyone was interested in me- like curious. I slumped into my seat a bit. When you have to hide out a lot of the time in your life, you wouldn't like to grab attention. When class ended, a gangly boy with skin problems and hair black as an oil slick leaned across the aisle to talk to me.

"Hi, I'm Eric." he said. "You must be Isabella Swan."

"Bella." I corrected. "Hi."

"What's your next class?"

"Government, in building six with Jefferson."

He offered to walk me to class even though his was in building four. I agreed and we went to our classes.

That's how it went throughout the rest of the morning. Every single class, I'd go to the teacher, get my sign slipped, and after class I'd meet a new student. I met Mike and Jessica.

At lunch, Jessica said I could sit with her friends. I thanked her and walked in the lunch line with her as she drabbled on about something. I grabbed a Snapple and paid. She looked at me.

"Aren't you hungry?" she asked eyeing my Snapple.

I smiled. "No. Not really. I had a big breakfast." I really did. I went out hunting and gluten myself to be prepared.

She shrugged and led the way to her table. She introduced me to all the people and they carried on with their conversations. I tried talking to them but it was hard considering that I didn't know the topics. Okay, dates, dances, homework, all those topics but I didn't know what to say. I was about to talk to Jess when I first spotted them.

They were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. They weren't gawking at me- thank God-, unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them without fear of meeting and excessively interested pair of eyes. But none of these traits was the reason they caught my eye and held my attention.

None of them looked alike. Of the three boys, one was big and very muscular. Another was taller, leaner, but still muscular, and honey blond. He also looked familiar. The third boy was the smallest of the three. He had untidy bronze hair and was muscular but not like the others.

The girls were opposites. One was blonde and tall. She looked like a model. The other was small and pixie-like with black, spiky hair.

Even though all of them were different from one another, they all looked the same as well. They were all chalky pale, with dark, dark eyes. They also looked sleep-deprived since they all had dark circles under their eyes. They all looked so different from the rest us- human and in my case, not. They were all extraordinarily beautiful.

They were all looking away in different directions. As I watched, the small girl rose with her tray of untouched food and left. Her movements were so swift and perfect- better than a ballet dancer's steps. She was fast too.

"Who are _they?_" I asked Jessica.

As she looked over to see who I was talking about- probably already knowing though-, the bronze-haired boy looked over. He looked at her for a fraction of a second and then his basically black eyes darted to mine. He looked away quickly- as fast as I did, which was fast. In that one or two seconds of seeing his face, I saw he held no interest- it was like someone called his name and looked involuntarily.

Jessica giggled in embarrassment and looked at me. "That's Edward and Emmett Cullen. And Jasper and Rosalie Hale. The one who just left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife." she said under her breath.

The one the looked at me earlier was now picking at his bagel and speaking very quickly and softly that a human wouldn't be able to notice. I strained my ears. He was saying why he looked- nothing important.

Strange, unpopular names for this time. The kind my friends had. I had a name that was common for anytime- lucky me.

"They're… nice-looking." I struggled with the conspicuous understatement.

"Yes!" she agreed with a giggle. "And they're all _together_ though- Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they _live _together." her voice held that of a gossiper.

"Which are the Cullens? None of them look related…"

"They're not. D. Cullen is really young, twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales _are_ brother and sister. The blondes. And they're foster children. Edward is the one with bronze hair, and Emmett is the big one."

"Edward… Jasper…" I murmured. I felt like I knew them from somewhere but I couldn't put my finger on it. "That's really nice of Dr. Cullen. To take care of all those kids. Even when they're so young."

"Guess so," she responded. Jealousy. "I don't think Mrs. Cullen can have kids though. That's why she wanted to adopt.

As Jessica and I talked, I kept peeking at the table. They were all still sitting there and not talking or eating. I searched their feelings. Bored, bored, bored, and b-annoyed? Okay, I don't know why Edward was annoyed but I left it to him.

At one point, he looked back over at us with curiosity written all over his face. Then it was composed back to boredom and he looked away once more. What if he felt me entering his mind? Huh- oops. That never happened before and- hopefully- it never will.

When lunch was over, I went to biology and went to get my slip signed. As I walked past the table Edward was sitting at- yes, he was in my class-, he went rigid in his seat for no reason. Then he shot me a glare, probably a death glare trying to scare me. Didn't work. I've seen worse and scarier. I walked right past without looking back and made my way to the teacher. He signed my slip and directed me to the only table with an open seat- with Edward. Peachy. I set my books down on the table and sat down without looking directly in Edward's direction. My already fast heart went slightly faster telling me to be scared. I've been threat-free for a long time, I forgot what danger was. I did a very, very low chuckle. My heartbeat's always fast and I got it to slow down to its normal pace.

Edward was on the edge of his seat being as far away from me as possible. I ignored him. If he wanted to act like that then I'd just not be nice. I'll act like the nice, innocent, sugary person that I normally am (Note sarcasm).

I tried listening to the lesson but I already knew this junk- just like everything else. So I sat there with my thoughts. When the bell rang, I bent down to get my bag and put my books away and Edward shot past me, silently. He moved so quickly and silently, that even _I _could barely hear his feet shuffle- which they did.

My next class was gym and I didn't have to do it that day. I watched four games of volleyball and then when class was over, I went to the office and then to my car. On the way there, I saw guys crowding around it.

I walked right up and went to the door.

"Hey."

I looked at the guy. "Hi."

"Where'd you get this car?" one guy asked.

I shrugged. "It was a gift. Why do you care?"

"Because it's sweet! Would you sell it to me?" the one guy was getting on my nerves. I think his name was Josh.

"Uh, no. It was a gift to me and I'm keeping it. I like it." I opened the car door and got in. I heard chuckling. I felt mischievous. Not me; the guys. I put the key in the ignition and it didn't start. It sputtered but didn't start.

I got back out and held my hand out. "Give it up."

The guy looked at me innocently. "Give what up?" his friends snickered.

"The car part." He handed it over smiling.

"Good luck getting it back in." People were gathering around to see what was up. I looked at the piece. I knew where that went. I could place it with my eyes closed.

I walked over to the hood and popped it up. "You really think I wouldn't know?" I smirked. I looked inside the car and saw that the guys had unhooked many wires and cables. I hooked them all back up and got on the ground. I crawled under the car and put the piece back together with everything around it. I heard murmurs and whispers asking what I was doing. I got back out.

"Let me guess." I said walking back to the car door. "You thought that if I thought it was busted I'd sell it. Right?" I got into my car and started it. It actually sounded better than it did before. Everyone moved and left to go to their cars. I pulled out and drove away. On my way home, I thought instead of paying attention to the road. I didn't need to.

Earlier, when I went to the office to turn my slip in, Edward Cullen was there. He was quietly asking and arguing about something. I listened intently but didn't look it. I stayed by the door and leaned against the wall. He was arguing about biology. He wanted to switch or not take it at all. Someone walked through the door and the wind blew everything around. Edward Cullen went stiff and looked at me with that glare again. I was acting like I was fixing my shirt but I was smirking. He thought he could scare me. Ha! Yeah, right. He turned to the lady and said thanks for nothing, really, and then left not looking at me. I turned my slip in.

Why did he act that way? Well, I don't care. I got home and was greeted by Toby who was at the fridge, sifting through the food. I cooked dinner and Charlie came home just in time to have some. That night, I did my homework and went outside into the little forest- area behind Charlie's house- just to explore. I walked around for an hour and then went back and relaxed.

Edward Cullen; strange. Emmett Cullen; big. Jasper Hale; familiar. Why? Why was he so familiar? And why was Edward as well? What made him angry at me? So many questions that are going unanswered. I'm going to find out whether people like it or not.

**So? What'd you think? Like it? Hate it? Send a comment or a flame- I'd like to know your opinion. Should I continue or delete?**

**~~Amy-Katherine914~~**


	2. Chapt 2: Accident, Fight

**Okay, I got like one or maybe two reviews saying I should continue- I'd like to know everyone's opinion even if it's bad. So please review. Thanks.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.**

**Chapter 2: We don't know…**

When I woke up, I did the normal school-day routine. Brush teeth, get dressed, eat breakfast, say goodbye, yadda, yadda, yadda. You know when your kid goes to school; you say 'have a good day?' Well, it was the opposite for Toby and I. He told me to have a good day and to not bite anyone. He's such a silly, little boy.

When I got to the school, I parked my car and made my way to the building. When I was by the door, I looked around for Edward's car- the shiny, silver Volvo. It wasn't there. Instead, Rosalie was driving a red BMW. It was nice. They all got out; Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Alice- but no Edward. I shrugged. It's not like I cared, it's just that I wanted to know what his problem was yesterday.

I sensed from his family that almost all of them were wary and annoyed- at me. O…Kay. Was it possibly my fault Edward wasn't in school? Wait, why am I stressing? I don't care. I walked to my first class and Mike walked me to my next class after that.

At lunch, I sat with a big group of kids with kids whose names I now remembered. I felt a bit better and little hungry- I should have eaten last night. Today for lunch, I had an apple and another Snapple. I missed my family. We always knew what to talk about. That's how we got along so well. In biology, it was the same; no Edward. I felt so exhausted so I mostly was on 'auto-pilot' during class. Thank God I knew all the answers and I could pull them from the teacher's head. After school was over, I ran to my car- glad to go home to Toby. I got in and started the car. I pulled out and drove back to Charlie's. Toby was sitting in the garage with other people. I could barely make out the people due to the downpour of rain.

I got out and saw who it was; Sonja, Teddy, and Ariel. I was so euphoric that I practically leaped over to them in one bound. I hugged them all.

"Seems you're just as gloomy as ever." remarked Teddy sarcastically.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked leading them into the house.

"We missed you and knew you were going to Toby so, we came over." answered Ariel.

Sonja, Teddy, and Ariel were shifters as well. They all were like me- ½ human and ½ shifter.

We talked for the rest of the night and they all laughed when they found out I was enrolled in school. I lead them to the basement with the guestrooms.

Edward Cullen was gone for the rest of the week. On Monday, people greeted me left and right. It was very cold this morning and everyone was wearing heavy coats. I had to wear one too to make it seem like it was cold to me. To be honest, I didn't mind; my kind were made to survive all kinds of weather. Mike and I walked to English and had a pop quiz on a book I've read over 32 times. After class, we all walked outside to be greeted by little cotton fluffs that were piling on top of each other on the sidewalk; snow.

Everyone was so excited about the snow- I could care less.

"Alright, snow!" exclaimed Mike.

"Eh." I answered.

"What? You don't like snow?"

"No, it's just that I haven't seen it in… a long while." A very long while. (**I'm not going to say Bella's age until the right time so you have to wait.)**

After Spanish class, I went to the cafeteria with Jessica. While we were in line, I kept my eyes facing Jess but I did look in the direction of _them._ They were there, of course. But now, not only were the four there but Edward was back with them. I froze. Great, now I have to deal with Mr. I- think- I'm- scary. Jess pulled on my arm.

"Bella, aren't you hungry? You never eat anything." she told me.

"No, no I'm fine. I have to go do something," I turned away toward the exit.

Once I was outside and the door shut, I ran to the woodsy area by the school. I ran for a while. I have no idea why but I did. About 10 minutes later, I was fine and back at school. I ran pretty far, too. I went back inside the cafeteria and sat next to Jessica. But before I got to the chair, I noticed a chunk of ice fly from somewhere in the lunch room to the far end of the wall and chip the brick. I gaped for a second then looked casual. I went to Jess's table.

She looked at me funny. "You okay?"

I nodded. "Just, um… needed some fresh air."

"Are you sure, Bella?" asked Mike. He was really concerned. A little too concerned; it made me slightly nauseous.

I nodded once more and looked through my peripheral vision at Edward's table. They were playing with some of the leftover snow. Emmett was shaking his head at the girls to get them wet and every one of them was holding their trays up to not get wet. How fake and cliché.

"Bella? Bella… Hello?" Jessica was waving her hand in front of my face and then Edward looked over in our direction. He looked concerned, curious, and frustrated; those feelings emanated from him as well.

"What?" I asked her. Apparently, I was asked something; I didn't hear.

"Are you? I mean, are you going to be part of the snowball fight?" Mike chimed in.

"No, not really. Sorry I don't… snowball fight." The snow actually turned to rain but I suppose no one else knew that.

Biology class again. Should I skip? No, I shouldn't- and won't. I'm such a goody-goody. Ha! Me, good. Yeah, right. I've killed before. That's not being- well, actually that _was_ for a good cause. Anyway, I made my way to class as everyone was groaning about the weather changing and the snowball fight being cancelled. I smiled and walked into the room. Mr. Banner was setting up slides at each table and not many people were in the classroom. I sat in my spot and started to draw the forest outside of Charlie's house, in detail. I had my eyes slightly closed so I could picture it perfectly. I was almost done when I heard the chair next to me slide across the linoleum. I ignored it.

"Hello." said a quiet, musical voice. My eyes shot open and I looked in the direction. In Edward's direction. "My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."

He seemed so shy and yet, not. I wanted to be nice, to be polite. But I also wanted to be snarky and rude to him because of how he treated me. Instead of saying something smart, I stammered, "How'd you know my name?"

He laughed a soft laugh. "Oh, I think everyone knows who you are. Topic of gossip."

"Knew it…" I murmured. "But I mean, why'd you call me Bella? Everyone hear refers to me as Isabella."

"Oh." He dropped it. I looked away. So many years I've been alive and that's the best I can come up with?

Class started and we had to separate the slides of onion root into the phases of mitosis. No books allowed. Mr. Banner told everyone to start.

"Ladies first?" asked Edward politely.

I shrugged. I set everything up accordingly and in about 3 seconds I said what the first slide was. "Prophase."

"You mind if I look?" He moved the microscope toward himself and looked in. I smirked knowing I was right. "Prophase." he agreed.

He put the next slide in and studied it for what seemed like a millisecond. "Anaphase." he murmured. He wrote down the name of the stage as I switched the slides.

"Interphase." I sounded extremely bored- which I was.

He checked to be sure and then he wrote it down. We were finished before everyone else and I saw that Mike and his partner were looking at the book under the table. Something seemed different about Edward. I couldn't put my finger on it but there was.

His eyes. Of course- they were a different color. Before they were black, now they're somewhat golden or topaz.

Mr. Banner came by the table to see why we weren't working. He looked at the paper and turned to Edward. "Mr. Cullen, perhaps it'd be best to let Isabella do some of the work as well."

I felt offended. He didn't think I was smart enough for this class. He thought that I was like everyone else; average. Well, he was way wrong.

"Bella," Edward corrected him automatically. "Actually, she identified most of them."

Mr. Banner looked at me. "Have you done this lab before?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Then how do you know this?" He crossed his arms.

"At my last school, we shot right past this section and barely reviewed it. I was in an extremely advanced class back in Arizona." One only reserved for immortal beings.

"Then, I guess it's a good thing you two are lab partners." he walked off. "So the others can learn for themselves…" he said under his breathe. I scowled slightly in his direction. Then, I started to finish my drawing. I just needed to draw the path.

"Too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked. It seemed he was forcing himself to speak to me.

I shrugged still drawing. "I guess so…" I said unconvincingly.

"You don't like the cold." It wasn't a question but a mere statement.

"It's not that. I'm just used to warm. I've lived in warm areas for many years now. And I'm not used to wet either." I finished my drawing and fished my colored pencils out of my bag. I started coloring the forest.

"Forks must be strange for you then."

I shrugged again. By this time, I was completely done with my drawing. I know, I'm fast, but I made it seem like I was coloring at a human pace. "It's alright- once you forget the rain is here 24/7."

He looked very interested by my answer. I started to put my pencils away when I caught him staring at the drawing. I smiled- people have always been drawn to my drawings. (Get it? drawn- drawing? Eh…) I showed it to him by tilting it in his direction.

"It… looks like a photo…" he murmured. "Did you draw this?"

I nodded. I then pulled the notebook away because there were some pictures of him, his family, and my past in there.

"So, if you don't like wet and cold, why'd you come here?" he sounded so casual.

"Uh… Long story. And complicated."

"I'm pretty sure I can keep up." He gave me an encouraging small smile.

"Okay then…" How do I start? "My parents died a long time ago. As well as my brother."

"I'm sorry." he sympathized.

"It's okay. Um, I lived with a foster family. It was just a bunch of kids living under one roof with an adult. They were my family for so long. Anyway, many of them were parting and the parents were moving as well. We had a friend out here- Charlie Benson- and another family member. A blood family member to one of us." No way was I going to say he was my son. "I decided that Charlie needed another friend at home so, here I am."

"That's not so complicated." he retorted to my earlier statement.

I shrugged. "Yeah. Well, about three of my family members came to visit me- they left four months ago- and now they're at Charlie's. We normally can't go more than 6 hours without speaking to another family member." At the end of my statement, I sounded slightly upset and worried. So much for hiding it.

"Is everything alright? You don't sound very happy…" Edward looked concerned. Huh, interesting.

"It's just… I haven't heard from Artemis in forever. She was supposed to call as soon as she got to her new house with Stan." I can't believe I'm telling him this! Stop!

"Don't worry, I'm sure everything's okay." he assured me. He smiled a crooked smile.

I smiled in response and then class ended. Mike came over to me as Edward left.

"That was awful. It was so hard. You're lucky Cullen was your partner."

"I had absolutely no trouble with the assignment." I countered. Why did everyone think I was dumb?!

Gym went by in a slight blur because I kept going over the conversation in my head. And I was trying to figure out why I ran before. What was up with that?

After gym, I got to my car and tried to start it. It didn't. I opened the door and groaned. When I got to the hood of the car, I popped it open. A certain cord was missing and I couldn't find it anywhere.

"Damn it…" I mumbled.

I went to the back of the car and opened the trunk. Inside were many spare car parts and tools. I grabbed the tool box and the extra cord. I walked back to the front and started connecting the cord to the others. People were staring as they passed me. After I put the tools back in the trunk and got everything situated, I searched for the perp.

I had my eyes closed and I was standing by my car door. As I searched through all the minds, I got a little dizzy- it takes a lot out of you. I found out it was a guy named Tyler. He wanted to make it seem as though I could be a damsel in distress and he could be my hero by driving me home or fixing my car. I gritted my teeth and opened my eyes. I got into my car and was about to start it when Tyler came by and stood by my door.

"Hey, Bella," He said with a grin.

"Hi, Tyler. Can I help you with something?" I looked at him. I was really annoyed. I wanted to go home.

"Yeah, I saw you were having car trouble and I was wondering if you needed help fixing it. Do you?" He was hopeful. Too hopeful.

I shook my head. "No but I _would _like my cable back." I smiled as I held my hand out.

He looked and felt ashamed. He handed it to me. "Sorry… I just-"

"Wanted an excuse to talk to me- I get it. Just don't do it again, okay?" With that, I started the car and carefully backed out.

When I got home, I went straight to my room and grabbed my guitar. Yes, I have a guitar. I just started to play aimlessly when Ariel came in.

"Hey…"

I opened my eyes. When I play guitar, my eyes are closed. "Hey, what's up?" I set my guitar down.

She shrugged. "I don't know, I just… I just have this- this feeling, you know?" Ariel is a shifter that can sense danger and miracles in the future. But she can't see them.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Happiness and… tragedy."

"Well, I don't know what to make of that- and trying to help you decipher hurts me so I can't do anything. Maybe you'll find out later."

She nodded and left. I fell asleep.

When I opened my eyes, something was different. It was quiet and lighter than usual. I ran to my window and looked out. It wasn't raining; there was snow and ice covering every inch of land. Ice covered the driveway and streets. Snow covered almost everything else. I laughed. Oh, man. I can't wait to see everyone try to walk around on _that._

I was one of the most coordinated shifters ever so I wouldn't have any trouble at all. I went downstairs when I was decent and left without saying goodbye. I pranced down the steps to the driveway and deliberately slid all the way to my car by the side of the road. I wiped all the snow off and drove to school. I got there before a lot of other people but there were some cars already here- like the Volvo. I drove past it to the other end of the parking lot. Once I was in a spot, I shut the engine off and got out. I went to the trunk of my car and opened it to get my stuff. When my bag was on my back, shiny silver caught my eye. There were snow chains on my tires.

Charlie must've gotten up early and put them on for me; silly man. He must have forgotten that I'm great at driving. All of the sudden, I heard an odd sound; tires squealing.

I looked in the direction it came from to find a van sliding its way toward me. The driver- Tyler- was trying to stop the car and it wasn't working. Edward was by his car at the other end of the lot, staring at me in horror. Then, I saw a flash of what was going to happen: Me going _Ker splat_ against my car. I couldn't let that happen. Toby still needed a mother; my clan still needed its protector. All this went through my head in about 5 milliseconds. I didn't know what to do; stop the van and expose myself- or die. If I exposed myself, I'd expose all magical creatures out there. If I died… Toby would be an orphan. Giant Clan would cease to exist because of all the predators out there.

Right when I as about to make my choice, something slammed into me… and it wasn't the van. I was knocked to the ground and the something- or rather, _someone- _put their hands out in front of me to stop the van from squashing me. The van shuddered and the windows burst; the glass shimmered as it fell to the ground by my feet. The same someone that stopped the van was holding me around the waist, to support me I'm guessing. I looked at the person who saved me to find Edward Cullen staring at me with worry in his feelings along with it in his eyes. He was also nervous.

"Bella? Are you alright?" he asked me.

I just stared at him. Did I just find another immortal? Or was it an _extreme_ adrenaline rush he had? I tried to sit up but he was holding me down.

"Be careful," he warned gently. "You hit your head pretty hard."

I felt the back of my head and felt a slight bump. I've had worse. "I've had worse- believe me." I smiled slightly to try to lighten the mood. I tried to sit up again and this time he let me. In the small space given to us, he backed away as far as he could.

There was chaos all around us. Kids were screaming my name and Tyler was apologizing like crazy. I looked at the dents in the van from where his hands were.

"Okay, you need to answer something for me." I turned to him.

He raised an eyebrow telling me to go on.

"How did you get all the way over here and stop the van?" I crossed my arms over my chest- not intimidating; it's just that I was slightly shaken from the worry I had to go through.

"I was by you the entire time, Bella. And I pulled you out of the way." He sounded so serious but on the inside, he was scared. I don't know why, but he was.

"No." I set my jaw. "You weren't. You were over by your car and then you just…" I couldn't figure out how to say it without sounding crazy.

"You think I dented the van?" his voice was sarcastic and rude. It reminded me of the first time I was near him.

"Yes." I curtly said.

"Absurd."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, whatever, Edward." It was my time to be rude. "And you _are _going to tell me. Whether it's willingly or forced." I raised my eyebrow as a challenge.

He didn't have time to respond because the paramedics were here and they got us out. I waved my hand at the van and the dents silently slid back into place. No need for people to see handprints stuck in the side.

Edward, Tyler, and I were hauled into the ambulance and taken to the hospital. Edward got to wander off as Tyler and I were in the emergency room. Tyler wouldn't be quiet, he was apologizing so much.

It was time for me to give everyone a break. I could tell that the nurses and doctors working with him were annoyed just like me.

"I'm so, so, so sorry-" I cut him off.

"Tyler, it's okay. You didn't hurt me. There was no blood so no harm done." I stared right into his eyes and he was quiet. This was how my kind caught their prey. You look them in the eye and mesmerize them. "You didn't hurt me, alright? You can stop apologizing."

He did. All the doctors around him looked at me and silently said thank you. Tyler closed his eyes and let the doctors dab at his wounds. He had gashes all over his body from the shattered glass.

"Hey, how did you get out of the way?" Tyler asked curiously.

"Edward pulled me out of the way." I was always convincing when I lied. Hopefully he'd fall for it.

"Who?"

"Edward Cullen- he pulled me out of the way."

"I didn't see him."

"Oh… well. I think you were concentrating too much on trying to stop, you didn't notice. Anyway, he was standing right next to me." I hated lieing but it felt as though I was lieing for a pretty darn good reason. I had to protect his secret- whatever it was.

Just then, Edward walked in and sat near the end of Tyler's bed. He looked at me and smirked. I glared at him. "So," he said. "What'd they say?"

"Nothing's wrong with me. However, they won't let me go. What about you?" I crossed my arms over my chest. I was angry at him so I might as well look it to let him know.

He seemed unfazed. "Same as me except that I _can _leave." he smirked again. I glowered. "I'm here to spring you." He felt nervous about something that was coming but I couldn't find out.

A doctor walked in. A young, blond, and gorgeous. He was also familiar. He was looking down at my charts as he walked in and he didn't see my face. "Miss Swan…" His voice was just the way I remembered.

"C- Carlisle?" I stammered, stunned.

He looked up and saw me. "Bell?" That was name a long time ago. He was just as stunned.

I composed my face and invaded his mind, putting mind blocks up just in case others close by were listening. He recognized the feeling and looked at my charts acting as though he were checking them over.

_I haven't seen you in- what- 90 years?_

_I suppose so. How've you been all this time? _I could tell he missed me by the melancholy in his thoughts.

_Not much happened. Just new people were brought to Giant Clan and stuff. Oh, and I had a son 9 years ago._

His eyes widened slightly. _Isabella Marie Clara Swan, I thought you were more responsible than that. Wait; was it with a mortal or another immortal?_

_A human attacked me and I couldn't fight back. It was on my human day. _Every shifter, that is half human, has a human day where they are completely human. With me, it's only afternoons of a certain day a year. I can't shift, I only have my strength and speed but if I used them in front of humans, I'd be found out. So, that day- 9 years ago- I couldn't fight back. _How's Esme?_

_She's fine. _"So, Bella, you have no concussion. You are alright and free to go." Carlisle smiled a warm, loving smile at me. _Be easy on the boy. He didn't mean any harm._

_I'll be as friendly as possible. Don't even think about warning him. _I slightly glared at him, playfully. I left his mind.

"Have a good day, Bella. And Charlie is in the waiting room."

I nodded and got off the bed. I trotted over to Edward as Carlisle inspected Tyler's cuts.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" I said through gritted teeth.

"Charlie's waiting for you." He used the same tone.

I sighed an exasperated sigh. "He can wait- this can't."

Edward silently got up and walked down the hallway with me on his heels. It seemed like he was trying to walk fast enough where I would fall behind. Too bad, I kept up easily. At the last second, he spun on his heel and faced me.

"What do you want?" He sounded annoyed. His eyes were cold, like he was trying to drive me away.

His being angry with me for no reason was enough for me to be even angrier at him. (Did that make sense?) "You owe me an explanation." My words were as cold as his eyes.

"I saved your life- I don't owe you anything."

I crossed my arms over my chest to look tough. "Bullshit. Since I'm keeping your _crazy strength _a secret, you do owe me."

"No, you keeping something secret for me would be you doing something for me because you owe me it." He looked a little confused at his sentence. "And you shouldn't swear."

"You can't tell me what to do, you're not my father! And you need to tell me how you did that! Would you rather I forced you or let you tell me willingly?" I felt deadly and if he said the wrong thing, I would snap.

"God, you think you're so scary. Thinking you could intimidate me… you're wrong. You're not a lion, you're a kitten." That did it.

I stepped forward and slapped him across the face and stalked off. I went over to my hospital bed and grabbed my jacket. "I'll talk to you later, Carlisle. Tell Esme I say hi." _I also hid the evidence on the van._ I winked.

He nodded and walked toward where I came from. I went into the waiting room and walked over to Charlie. He rushed to me with Toby on his heels.

Carlisle and Edward came out of the emergency room. Edward walked away but Carlisle came over to Charlie, Toby, and me. He smiled at them.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Carlisle Cullen. Nothing's wrong with Bella. She just needs rest." Carlisle shook hands with Charlie and looked at Toby. He turned to me. "Is this _him?_"

I nodded. He looked back at Toby like he was a miracle.

"Hello. What's your name?" he bent down to Toby's level.

"Toby." he answered in his little 9-year-old voice. He was twiddling his thumbs.

"Well, Toby, I'm very good friends with your mother- and she'll be alright, don't worry. Okay?"

Toby's and Charlie's eyes widened. They looked at me and shock ran through them.

"Carlisle was the one that saved me all those years ago."

Toby smiled at Carlisle. "Thank you for helping my mom."

"It was no problem at all. I was worried when I heard she was hurt, she's practically a daughter to me."

I rolled my eyes. "That'd make you practically a grandfather, C."

He and Charlie chuckled.

"Let's go." suggested Charlie.

"Bye," I waved to Carlisle, picking up Toby and resting him against my hip. "And, yes, you can tell Esme about Toby. Just don't let her tell anyone else."

The three of us left. When we got back home, I was bombarded questions. Ariel, Teddy, and Sonja thought I stopped the car but I told them that I was pulled out of the way. Ariel was convinced that was the tragedy and miracle; the van almost killing me and the fact that I survived. I went to bed early since all my energy went into worrying during the accident, fighting with Edward, slapping Edward, and talking to Carlisle through our minds. That was the first night I dreamt about Edward Cullen.

In my dream, I was fighting with him. Not verbally but physically. We were fighting really hard and he seemed an equal opponent. I couldn't win and neither could he. It was strange. What made it stranger was that I was crying. I didn't want to fight him but I had to. Like someone was making me. I woke up in the middle of the night and decided to go hunting.

I walked out to the backyard and went into the forest. I transfigured into a jaguar- my alias. I went hunting as that and my family went as theirs, but not this time. This was my own raid. I found some deer and bit into their necks after I caught them. I sucked all their blood and my eyes got that purple-y tint to them. Only other immortals could tell it was there. When I was done hunting, I turned back to my human self. I waved my hand at the dead deer and they disappeared. I walked back to the house at a slow pace. By the time I was back, it was morning and it was time for school.


	3. Chapt 3: Arguments, Seattle Talk

**Okay, some people said continue and I am so… yeah. Here it is. I'll try to update as fast as I can but I have school happening and family and I do not have my own computer- I have to share with my mom who wants to be on as much as I do.**

**Disclaimer: You should know by now… I do not own Twilight or silly putty!**

**Here's the story!**

**Chapter 3:**

When I got to school, people were crowding me the entire time; asking what happened, how I escaped death, blah, blah, blah.

Throughout the time people were asking how I was, no one bothered about Edward. Neither he- nor his family- ever looked my way.

On the day after the accident, I wanted to talk to him- to apologize for smacking him. And I tried- sort of. It was in biology class and when I walked in, he was already situated. I walked up to the table and sat down. He showed no reaction to let me know he knew I was there. He just kept staring straight ahead. So, I thought I should be a little nice to him to show I wasn't so angry anymore.

"Hello, Edward." I chirped pleasantly. I was going to behave myself. Along with sounding pleasant, I also sounded sorry. I don't know how, but I did. And I was- I was overwhelmed the day before and I didn't mean to actually slap him. He seemed extremely shocked that I did that. And that it slightly hurt.

He turned his head a fraction of an inch toward me and nodded once to acknowledge me. Then, he turned his head away. Through the entire time, I acted like he didn't exist and he did the same to me.

I could tell Mike was pleased that Edward and I were ignoring each other. He was worried that the experience would create a bond between us. It didn't need- it did the opposite.

Jessica directed my attention toward another thing happening that was coming closer by the day; a spring dance. It was two weeks away. She called me to tell me she was asking Mike to it. (It was girls' choice) And she also wanted my permission.

"You sure you don't mind… you weren't planning on asking him?" she persisted when I told her I didn't mind in the least.

"Nope…not at all. I'm not going." I didn't like going to dances because I always wound up being the center of attention or having to perform. I also just thought they were boring. I liked the old dances I used to go to with my mom, elegant and sophisticated. Now, dances were weird; they had bad music playing- I loved the classics.

"It'll be really fun…" her attempt to get me to go was very poor.

"Jess," I was about to laugh. "Just call Mike and ask."

The next day, Jessica was unusually quiet. I figured it was possible that Mike turned her down and she just didn't want me to know. At lunch, Jessica sat far away from Mike and sat near Eric. Mike wasn't as chatty either.

As we walked to biology, he still didn't say anything. He had a look on his face that showed he was nervous and uncomfortable; not a good sign.

He didn't say what it was about, even as we sat at my table. As usual, I was always aware of Edward sitting next to me. Don't know why, and I don't care.

"So," Mike was finally reaching what he was thinking about. "Jessica asked me to the spring dance."

"That's great." I made my voice happy and enthusiastic. "You'll have a lot of fun with Jess."

He looked at my smile, clearly not happy with the way I responded. "Well, I told her I had to think about it."

"Why'd you do that?" I sounded like a disapproving mother. However, I was relieved he didn't give her a complete and total turndown.

"I thought that maybe… you were planning on asking me." He was looking down.

I felt horrible. He thought I liked him that way. I paused for a moment when I saw that Edward had his head reflexively tilted in our direction.

"Mike… I think you should tell her yes."

"Did you already ask someone?" His eyes flickered to Edward for a second. I felt like laughing because he thought that.

"No," a little, quiet chuckle slid out. He didn't hear it. "I'm not going to the dance at all."

"Why not?" he demanded. He really wanted to go with me.

To avoid being the center of focus, I made new plans right away. "I'm going to be in Seattle that Saturday," I needed to get out of town anyway, and Saturday seemed like the perfect day, all of a sudden.

"You can go any other day, can't you?" Persistent little…

"Sorry, no," I said holding back my attitude. "And you shouldn't make Jess wait- it's rude."

He mumbled and left to go sit at his desk. I closed my eyes and pressed my fingers to my temples, trying to calm myself down. Mr. Banner began talking and I opened my eyes.

Edward was staring at me curiously, that same, familiar edge of frustration even more distinct in his black eyes and his soul. I tried to ignore his gaze but it wasn't working. I found myself staring back, waiting for him to look away. But he didn't- instead, he just kept gazing with probing intensity into my eyes. I was not going to look away- I couldn't. My hands shook ever so slightly.

"Mr. Cullen?" Mr. Banner asked him a question I had not heard and was now seeking the answer.

"The Krebs Cycle," Edward answered, seeming reluctant as he turned to look at the teacher.

I looked down at my book as soon as his eyes released mine. My heart was in double time. I didn't know why, but somehow… Edward Cullen was the cause. Just because he looked at me for the first time in half-dozen weeks, doesn't mean that he should hold this kind of power over me- especially if he doesn't know it!

I tried as hard as I could to not be aware of him and, since that wasn't possible, I acted like I wasn't. I concentrated on slowing my heart back down. When the bell rang at last, I turned my back to him to gather my things. I expected him to leave immediately as usual.

"Bella?" That voice shouldn't be so familiar to me. I've only known him for a few short weeks, but it seemed like I knew him for forever.

I turned slowly, not wanting to feel what I knew I would feel when I looked at him. When I finally looked at him, my face was wary and his was unreadable. He didn't say anything.

"What? Are you speaking to me again?" I sounded angry and rude.

He looked as though he were trying not to smile. "No, not really," he admitted.

I looked at the front of the room for a second and then continued to pack my bag, not looking at him. "Then what do you want, Edward?" I managed to force out through tightly clenched teeth.

"I'm sorry," he sounded sincere. I stopped what I was doing and tilted my head to look at him. I raised an eyebrow. "I'm being rude, I know. But it's better this way, really."

"I don't know what you're talking about." my voice was guarded.

"It's better if we're not friends," he explained. "Trust me."

I huffed. Like I haven't heard _that _before. I didn't need to trust him. He lost all my trust by not telling me what happened. "Unfortunately, you lost that trust- I'm sure you've realized that." I stood up, jerked my bag over my shoulder and was about to walk away. I sighed.

When I looked back at him, he looked a little bit sad but he hid it after a second.

"I'm sorry," I echoed his sincere tone from before. "I mean, I didn't mean to slap you that hard. You still lost the trust, though." Then I walked away. I tried to do it dramatically but he caught up and stopped me by the door.

"Bella," He looked into my eyes.

I really didn't want to deal with any of this- I've been having a bad day. "That's Isabella to you." I miffed.

"Fine… Isabella," He wasn't going to give up! "I really am sorry. I know I lost the trust from before, but I'm hoping that I can gain new trust?" It seemed as though he were ready to pin me to the wall if I didn't say yes.

"I'll trust you if you trust me about trusting you trusting me." I tried to confuse him.

It worked. He stood there, thinking. I escaped down the hall to my next class. After gym, I practically ran to my car. I wanted out so bad; mostly because I didn't want to run into Edward again. Someone was standing by my car; Eric. I kept walking over and greeted him nicely. "Hey, Eric." I opened the car door.

"Hey, Bella." He looked nervous.

"What's up?" I knew what he was going to say and I was prepared.

"I was just wondering… if you would go to the dance with me?" His voice broke at the last word.

"Eric… I'm sorry but I'm going to Seattle that day. I'm flattered, really. But I just can't go."

"Oh," he grumbled. "Maybe another time then."

"Sure." I bit my lip. What if he holds me to that? Oh, crap!

He slouched off to his car when I heard a low chuckle. I turned and saw that Edward was walking past the front of my car, looking straight ahead, trying not to laugh. I got into my car and was driving out of school grounds when the stupid Volvo pulled in front of me and sat there, idling. Edward was waiting for his family. My cell phone rang.

I answered. "Hello?"

"_Hey, Bella."_ It was Ariel.

"Oh. Hey, Ariel. What's up?" I was actually a little annoyed at the moment and, unfortunately, she could tell.

_"I found out what the tragedy was."_

"What? What is it?" My anger was set aside for this new information.

_"I'm not fully sure but it does involve… Artemis." _she whispered the last word.

"Oh, no."

"_No one can get a hold of her or Stan. Manny and Sharon were going to check on them."_

"Okay," I looked in my rearview mirror when someone honked. It was Tyler. "I've got to go, Ariel."

_"Okay, bye. Love you."_

"Like a sis."

_"Always."_ She hung up.

When I put my phone away, there was a knock on the passenger- side window. I put the window down. It was Tyler; he had gotten out of his new, used Sentra and walked up to my car.

"Sorry, Tyler. I'm stuck behind Cullen." My previous annoyance came back as I found out the reason why he was over here- and that Edward wanted to see.

"I know- just wanted to ask you something while we're trapped here," he grinned. I had a pad of paper and a pen hidden on my lap and I wrote a message on it. "Will you ask me to the spring dance?"

"I'm not going to be in town, Tyler." I was rude, I know. But he already knew and he was on my last nerve.

"I know. Mike told me." He smiled again.

"Then why did you-"

He shrugged. "I was hoping that you were letting him down easy."

"Sorry, Tyler." I said through gritted teeth. "I really am going to be out of town."

"That's cool," Oh, no. "We still have prom."

Before I could respond, he went back to his car. I looked forward to see Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett sliding into the car. Edward was- obviously- shaking with laughter. He knew what happened. I held the sign I wrote up for him to read. It said: _Enjoy the show? Because after that, there'll be a fistfight. _I was lying about the last part, but it got him to stop laughing.

He actually looked scared and felt it. Barely looked it, but I knew. His family looked back at me and they all read the sign while I was waving innocently. They all laughed as they drove off. I put the sign down and drove to Charlie's, smiling.

Charlie took Toby to a diner in Port Angeles. I had the house to myself since Ariel, Sonja, and Teddy were hunting. The phone rang and it was Jessica. She was ecstatic because Mike said yes. She wanted to call Angela and Lauren to spread the news. I suggested that they could ask Eric and Tyler- she agreed it was a good idea and hung up. I went to my room and did my homework- didn't take very long. I did some chores around the house- laundry, dust, and vacuum. After that was done, I went into the backyard with Toby's boom-box. I turned it on and Let it Rock by Kevin Rudolf and Lil Wayne was playing. I used that as my training music. I had a dummy tied to a tree and I practiced my fighting moves on it. By the time I was done, it was dark and I was exhausted. I untied the dummy- or the remains of it (I sort of 'killed' it) and threw it in the trash. I walked inside with the boom-box, put it in Toby's room, and collapsed on my bed after I went into my room. I just lied there, doing nothing but breathing deeply, when Sonja came in.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey." I echoed into the comforter, sounding muffled.

She chuckled and stepped over to the bed. "Overwork yourself?"

"Ughhhhh…" I groaned into the bed. "Uh-huh. I had a bad day and I took it out on the dummy." I lifted my head up.

"Did it survive?" She was smirking.

"Sadly… no. The only thing that was in good condition afterwards was the… um, _part._" If you know what I mean.

"Ew…" She grimaced.

"Yeah, well… I'm exhausted so could you leave?"

She nodded and did as I said. I sat up, thinking. I went over everything Edward had said to me today. Everything he did around me. What did he mean; it'd be better if we weren't friends?

I was playing with my dagger- flipping it and tossing it around- when I realized what he meant. The dagger was balanced on my finger and it fell as my stomach twisted. He must have seen how absorbed I was by him; he must not want to lead me on… we couldn't even be friends… he wasn't interested at all. And- apparently- I was. My whole life, my heart and thoughts, my likes and dislikes have been the same since I first turned 17. The only time it changed was when I made room to care for my family and Toby. Having changes happen to you is very rare. And my family and I were lucky enough to love one another. But… now, I love one more person? I love _Edward?_ I did… I do. But, I thought it wasn't obvious since I kept ignoring him and shunning him.

But, of course he wasn't interested in me, I thought angrily. I'm not interesting- I'm a freak- a type of monster. But a monster that saved people and loved. He _was_ interesting… and gorgeous… and quiet… and mysterious… and strong. Maybe even immortal like myself. No, it can't be that. I would have picked up that thought straight away.

If he didn't want to be friends, then fine. We won't be. I'll leave him alone. I fell asleep, fretting.

The next day, when I pulled into the parking lot at school, I deliberately parked as far away from the Volvo as possible. I didn't want to 'accidentally' owing him a new car. Getting out of the car, the car keys dropped out of my hand and fell into a puddle by my feet. As I bent to get it, a white hand grabbed it in a flash. I slouched my shoulders and jerked upright. Edward Cullen was leaning against the car twirling the keys on the key ring around his finger.

I held my hand out for the key. He dropped it in, careful not to touch my hand.

"Thanks." I said curtly.

"Your welcome." He was being oh-so-polite.

"What do you want now?" I asked reaching into my car to get my bag. I slammed the door shut and looked at him, waiting for an answer.

He didn't answer, he just looked at me. I changed the subject; it was getting awkward with the staring contest.

"Why the traffic jam yesterday?" I shifted my weight from my left foot to my right. I was being too still. I continued staring at him, daring him to talk. "I thought you were supposed to act as though I don't exist- not annoy me to death."

He finally spoke. "That was for Tyler's sake, not mine. I had to give him his chance." He snickered.

"I figured… At least your family got a good laugh at you." I tilted my head and smiled at him, I was winning this little contest. "You really looked scared when you read my sign." My smile got bigger and looked a little like a smirk- which it was.

"And I'm not acting like you don't exist," he continued as though I hadn't spoken.

"So you _are_ trying to annoy me to death. Well, the annoyance fades fast. If you really want to annoy me- you've got to do _a lot_ better."

"I'm not trying to annoy you either." He rolled his tawny eyes.

"So you're trying to kill me? If you wanted me to die, you should've let Tyler's van do the job."

"Bella, that is utterly absurd." His voice was serious and cold.

I wanted to hit him again. My hand raised a bit to actually do it but I stopped myself and walked away.

"Wait," he called. I walked faster, but still at a human pace. He kept up easily. "I'm sorry, that was rude." I ignored him. "I'm not saying it isn't true," he continued. "But it was rude to say it, anyway."

"Can't you just leave me alone?" I grumbled.

I wanted to ask you something, but you sidetracked me," he chuckled.

"You've got multiple personality disorder, don't you?" I asked severely, staring straight ahead.

"You're doing it again."

"Well, actually before, I asked what you wanted but you were acting like an idiot and just stared at me. So, I'll ask again; what do you want?"

"I was wondering if, from a week from Saturday- you know the day of the spring dance-"

"Are you trying to be _funny?_" I interrupted him. In his eyes and his emotions, he was laughing. I narrowed my eyes by the slightest. I had stopped walking and wheeled around to face him. I was about two inches shorter than him so I sort of had to look up. My face was getting drenched by the downpour- I didn't care.

"Will you please allow me to finish?"

"Fine- but if say what I partly think you're going to say I swear to God-"

He chuckled. "I heard you were going to Seattle that day and I wanted to know if you wanted a ride."

"Why?" I was stunned.

"I was planning to go to Seattle in the next few weeks and, to be honest, I don't think your car can make it." He ran his hand through his wet hair.

"Uh-huh. Liar- my car can make it there and back seven times. Plus, I wasn't planning on using my Infinity." I started walking again. He matched my slow pace again.

"Well, then what are you planning on driving?"

"I heard the weather was going to be nice so… my Harley." I looked away.

He was stunned. "You have a _Harley_?"

I looked at him grinning. "And you don't?"

"No." We stopped underneath the shelter of the cafeteria roof now so the rain was pouring on us.

"You just want to go because you're curious." I accused.

"About what?" He seemed skeptical.

I read his feelings and was slightly stunned to find what I did. "Me," I smirked. "You're just like everyone else. You want to see the new toy in the box."

"Bella, I'd just like to get to know you, that's all."

"Honestly, Edward," Whenever I said his name, a thrill went through my body and I hated it. "I can't keep up with you anymore. I thought you didn't want to be my friend."

"I said it would be better if we weren't, not that I didn't want to be."

"Oh, that's just peachy. Now everything's clear for me now." Sarcasm is an immortal's best friend; never goes out of date.

"It would be more… _prudent _for you not to be my friend," he explained. "But I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella."

His eyes and voice were so gentle, sincere, and intense as he said the last part.

"Would you go with me to Seattle?" he asked, still intense.

"You can come if you want… you just have to keep up." I smiled as I started to walk away. Where did that answer come from? I sounded… slightly seductive and flirty- but also bored and normal. That was… odd. Edward stopped me by stepping in my path.

"You really _should _stay away from me," he warned.

"That same goes for you, too." He might not know, but I could kill him in a second.

"I'll see you in class." He left the way we just came.


	4. Chapt 4: Blood and Friends

**Okay, someone pointed something out to me about the story. I will repeat what they said but I won't say who said it- confidential. ;) They said, "****Doesn't Bella know that Edward is a vampire? I mean she does know the signs, having been around for quite a while and she knows Carlisle. So, doesn't she realize that Edward is a vampire?" I'll tell all of you this to clear it up, okay? Bella does know about vampires but the only kind she's met up with drink HUMAN blood so she sees red eyes- not gold. She knows Carlisle is a vampire and a good one at that. But Bella isn't positive if Edward is like Carlisle or if Carlisle simply adopted a human kid. And she's also blinded by love. She goes past his looks to his soul and sees that is a good guy… kind of. LOL. Anyway, here's the story! Hope that cleared everything up!**

**Chapter 4:**

On my way to English class, I wrote a fake note from Charlie saying to excuse me for being late to school- I had a dentist appointment. And it looked official and real. I knew I was late for class and when I opened the door, Mr. Mason stopped teaching to welcome me sarcastically to class.

"Glad you decided to join us, Miss Swan,"

I walked up to him and handed him the note. "I have a legit excuse." I went and took my seat. The teacher started teaching again. It took me a while to realize that Mike wasn't sitting in his usual spot near me. I felt a little guilty because it was possible he was mad that I turned him down. But both he and Eric met me at the door after class was over, so I was forgiven. Mike was turning into himself again and started talking about the weather report for this weekend. It was supposed to be sunny so his beach trip was back on. He asked me to go.

"Some relatives came into town and I have to hang out with them… I'm sorry- I can't go," I really did want to go but it was time to hunt with the group before they left. "I heard you talking about it before, and I was going to ask if I could tag along but… Charlie's making me hang out with them so, you know- no go." I frowned. I haven't been to a beach in a long while and I _really _wanted to go. Ha- I'm acting like a teenager again.

"Okay, maybe we all could hang out another time again. And you could be with us." Eric chimed in.

"Yeah, maybe." I smiled. I thought that making friends here would be hard but it wasn't at all. I made many human friends.

The rest of the morning went by in a slight blur. I was thinking about what Edward had said to me; the way he looked. Maybe I was dreaming earlier, I mean, there's no way that I could appeal to him on any level. Sure, my kind is attracting to our prey but that was only when we wanted to be. And I didn't want to be like that to him; just shear beauty. I wanted these people to see me for who I really was. Not the monster part but the part that could stay among them.

While Jess and I were in line, I was impatient and frightened. I wanted to see his face- see if he went back to being cold, but also not wanting to see that reaction if it _was_ back. I also wanted to know if I really did hear what I thought I heard this morning. Jessica was babbling on about her plans for the dance- completely unaware of my inattention. I used my talent and went into some other kid's mind and looked through his eyes so I could get a good view of Edward's table and, to my dismay, he wasn't there. My face must've look spaced and in too much concentration because Jess shook my shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked with false friendliness. She was actually quite annoyed and mad that I wasn't listening to her constant rambling.

"Yeah," I focused on her face, letting my vision take place of the other kid's. "Just… a minor headache, you know?" I smiled and slightly shook my head. I was a little depressed that Edward wasn't there. I didn't let it show. "I'm sorry, I was paying attention just…. not as much as you hoped." I smiled angelically and apologetically.

She looked at me weird. "Okay, anyway… Edward Cullen is staring at you." She smiled happy to talk about him.

I knew I sensed him here somewhere. He was sitting at a table across the cafeteria from where he usually sat. I grabbed a Snapple. I smiled. "Is that so?" I replied playing along.

"Yes! I wonder why he isn't sitting with his family today…" She was facing me but looking at him from the corner of her eye.

I read his feelings. "I think I have a hunch…" I slightly smirked. I looked at him full on and once he caught my eye, he raised his hand and motioned me over with his index finger. I raised one eyebrow while laughing. "Oh my God…" Then he winked and I laughed harder.

"What?" Jess was looking at me again. "What'd he do?" She was eager to know so she could gossip. She was also jealous that Edward never paid any attention to _her._

"He's trying to be… _alluring._" I laughed again at the last word.

"Please, he doesn't have to try…" She stood next to me and faced him. "I mean, he's _beyond_ gorgeous."

"Okay…" I paid for my Snapple and started to walk over there. Jess grabbed my arm.

"Tell me _everything!_" she whispered in my ear.

"Duh!" I walked over to Edward and stood behind the chair across from him. "This taken?"

"Only by you." he smiled crookedly.

I sat down and looked at him. "It seems some of your family is angry I got you away from them."

"Of course they are." he responded distractedly.

I sat back in my chair and gently crossed my arms.

Edward looked at the Snapple sitting in front of me. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Nope- not at all. You?" I unscrewed the cap on my drink and took a sip.

"Far from it."

"So this is different…" I'm not one of those 'chatty' types outside of my clan.

"Yeah, well," he paused for a second. "I thought since I'm going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly."

"Interesting," I said. "But you do know that I'm not entirely on board of what you you're saying."

He smiled. "I know." he changed the subject so I couldn't breach it. "It seems _your_ friends are angry now too."

"They'll survive." I could feel their stares on my back and feel all the girls' jealousy that he chose me over them.

"I may not give you back, though." he retorted with a wicked glint in his eyes.

"Fascinating- that supposed to scare me?" I was on the verge of laughing. I've heard a lot worse in my years.

"Maybe. Worried?" he raised a challenging eyebrow.

"No. Surprised is more like it," I played with cap of my Snapple. "What brought all this on?" I was balancing the tip of the cap on my fingernail.

"I told you- I got tired of trying to stay away. So I'm giving up."

"Oh really. Giving up what exactly?" I had little understanding of what he was talking about.

"Giving up trying to be good. Now, I'm going to do what I want and let the chips fall where they may." His smile faded and he became serious.

"You lost me again." I lied. I was keeping up very easily. I wanted him to spill his secret.

The breathtaking smile was back again. "I always say too much when I'm around you- that's one of the problems."

"Don't worry- I understand about 0% of what you say to me." One more lie I hope he doesn't catch.

"I'm counting on that." Good, he bought it.

"So, in plain English, are we friends now?" I was slightly confused.

"Friends…," he mused, dubious.

"Or not," I muttered.

He grinned. "We can try, I suppose. But I'm telling you right now that I'm not a good friend for you to have." He was smiling but behind it, he was serious.

"You say that a lot," I noted.

"Yes- you never listen to me, that's why. I'm still waiting for you to believe me, and if you're smart, you'll avoid me."

"Yes, thank you. I don't need you repeating yourself. If you want me to avoid you, stop coming over to me and talking to me. Oh- and I _am _smart. Take that warning and send it to yourself, from me." My voice was slightly sharp and cold.

He smiled apologetically.

After that little outburst of mine, I felt a little better. "So, as long as I hear your little warnings, we'll try to be friends?"

He nodded. "That sounds about right."

I looked at my hands wrapped around the Snapple bottle, not sure what to do now.

"What are you thinking?" he asked curiously.

I looked up at him and smirked. "Oh, no. I'm not telling you."

"Please?"

I did one small, quiet laugh. "To keep conversation going, fine." I looked him in the eyes. "I'm trying to figure out what you are." I admitted seriously.

His jaw tightened but he kept the smile on his face- with some effort. "Having any luck?" he asked with an offhand tone.

"A little- but not much."

"What are your theories?"

I kept shut.

"Won't you tell me?" He tilted his head to one side with a shockingly tempting smile.

I took in a deep breath. "……No…,"

"That's _really _frustrating, you know," he complained.

"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frustrate you! I just thought not explaining myself was the right way to go!" My anger and frustration from the past couple days was building up. "Just because someone refuses to tell you what they're thinking doesn't make that frustrating. What's frustrating is having someone save your life under _extreme_ circumstances and not explaining why or how they did that. And having that same person shun you and make cryptic little remarks specifically designed to keep you up at night wondering what the hell they mean….,"

He grimaced. He knew where I was going with this.

"Or better," I continued not giving him a chance to speak. "Having someone promise you something and them piss you off instead of keeping that promise and ignore you completely like you're some kind of leper! Now _that _is also frustrating. Don't you agree?" My temper hasn't gotten that high in months. My entire little speech had sarcasm built in.

"You've got a bit of a temper, don't you?"

"I don't know," I remarked sarcastically, "Do I?"

We stared at each other, unsmiling.

He glanced over my shoulder and, unexpectedly, snickered.

"What?"

"Your boyfriend seems to think I'm being rude to you- he's debating whether or not to come over here and break up our fight." he snickered again.

"I don't know who you're talking about," I said frostily. However, I did know who he was talking about: Mike Newton- he thought of me as his girlfriend. Idiot… "I'm sure you're wrong anyway."

"Oh, I'm not. People are easy to read."

I smirked. "Not me,"

"Oh, really?"

I nodded, smug. "You've _never _noticed when I've lied to you. No one has, for that matter."

"You're right- you're not… I wonder why that is." He was suddenly curious. With my talent of the mind, I'm able to put up mind blocks in my mind, as well as others. My mind blocks are permanent on me so once I put them up; no one can get into my mind.

I looked away from his intense stare and traced the designs on the table with my eyes. I took another swig of Snapple.

I looked at him again. "Can you do me a favor?"

He turned wary- I wonder why. "That depends on what you'd like."

"It's not much." I assured him.

He waited patiently.

"Could you… warn me before you decide to ignore me for my own good? So I'm prepared?" I stared at my drink as I spoke, unable to look at those gorgeous, golden eyes.

"That sounds fair." When I looked back up at him, he looked as though he were about to laugh.

"Thanks."

"Then can I have one in return?" he demanded.

"One." Oh, crap!

"Tell me _one_ theory."

"Not that one."

"You didn't qualify, you just promised one answer," he reminded me.

"You've broken promises before… and I _didn't _promise anything. I'm qualifying now; not in the theories category."

"Just one- I won't laugh."

I didn't say anything. He looked down then back up at my through his black lashes, his ocher eyes scorching. Compulsion; he's trying to use compulsion to make me tell him.

"Please?" he breathed, leaning toward me.

I blinked, trying not to laugh. I made myself immune to that kind of power. However, it did make him look cuter- which made my heart speed up in the slightest.

"Please just tell me one little theory." he continued eyes still smoldering.

Just to make him happy… I'll make some up. "Fine," I thought of one. "Radioactive spider?"

"That's not very creative," he scoffed.

I shrugged. "Sorry, that's all I've got." I lied. I took another sip of Snapple.

**(A/N I'm going to tell you right now why Bella drinks Snapple constantly. I may forget later so here you go: Snapple is like medicine to shifters- that's what Bella is- and certain flavors help in certain ways. The kind Bella drinks helps keep her under control around people and helps her keep her strength. There you go! Just to clear some things up!)**

"You're not even close." he teased.

"No spiders?"

"No."

"And no radioactivity?"

"Nope." He popped the P.

"Dang," I sighed, falsely disappointed.

"Kryptonite doesn't bother me, either." he chuckled.

It does to Stan. He's allergic. That kind of thing is nothing to joke about. "You're not supposed to laugh." I reminded him.

He tried to compose his face.

"I will figure it out eventually," I warned him. I had a feeling that I was extremely close to knowing his secret.

"I wish you wouldn't try," He was serious again.

"Because…?" C'mon. Nothing could be as bad as a Hacker. And he _wasn't _a Hacker- Hackers aren't pale.

"What if I'm not a superhero? What if I'm the bad guy?" He smiled to make the mood seem lighter, but on the inside he was dead serious.

"Oh," He thought that if he was 'evil' that I would stay away. Well, he was way wrong. I confronted evil- I protected people from evil. "I see," He was wrong. No way is he evil.

"Do you?" his face was severe. It looked as though he thought he said too much. I dug into his mind for a moment. He did think that.

"You're dangerous," I guessed. I could tell he thought that by the way he first acted around me.

He just looked at me, eyes full of sadness and something else. I couldn't tell.

"But not bad," I whispered, shaking my head. "No, I don't believe that for one second."

"You're wrong," his words were almost inaudible. He took the bottle cap next to my hand and started spinning it.

I just stared at him. I kept wondering why he thought he was dangerous and why he wanted me to be afraid. The silence lasted until I realized the cafeteria was almost empty.

I got to my feet quickly. "We're going to be late."

"I'm not going to class today," he spun the bottle cap so fast it was just a blur to human eyes. Only immortals like myself could catch the absolute movement.

"Why not?"

"It's healthy to ditch class now and then." he smiled at me but he looked a little troubled.

"Well, I'm going to go," I didn't want to miss what we had to do. People were saying it was cool. I was curious.

He looked at the bottle cap again as he spoke, "I'll see you later, then."

I left the cafeteria after throwing out my empty Snapple bottle. I half-ran to class. When I got in, I saw that Mr. Banner wasn't inside yet. I quickly took my seat, aware that both Mike and Angela were staring at me, astonished. Mike was mostly resentful; Angela was surprised and in awe.

Mr. Banner came in and told the class to can it. He was carrying little cardboard boxes in his arms. He put them on Mike's table and said to pass them out.

I knew right away what he was going to do. Mr. Banner took rubber gloves out of his jacket pocket and snapped them onto his hands.

"Okay, class, I want you all to take one piece out of each box. The first should be an indicator card," he said, grabbing a white card with four squares marked on it and displayed it. "The second is a four-pronged applicator-" he held up something that looked like a toothless hair pick. "- and the third is a sterile micro- lancet." He held up a small piece of blue plastic and split it open. The barb made my stomach flip; we were doing blood typing today.

"I'll be coming around with a dropper of water to prepare your cards, so please don't start until I get to you." He began at Mike's table again, carefully putting one drop of water in each of the four squares. "Then I want you to carefully prick your finger with the lancet…"He grabbed hold of Mike's hand and jabbed the spike into the tip of Mike's middle finger. Oh no. I could smell the blood; the sweet smelling human blood dripping off of his finger. I held my breath.

I had to get out- this was too much for me. Without breathing or looking in the direction of Mike's table, I tinted my face to look sickly. There was a slight shade of green and I looked clammy. Mr. Banner was still explaining what to do, but I wasn't listening. I was telling myself to not look; that I was strong enough to not lose control. The scent of Mike's blood burned in my nostrils. I couldn't get it out. I closed my eyes and set my head on the table. Mr. Banner was making his way around the class, kids were squealing and laughing and complaining.

"Bella, are you alright?" Mr. Banner was standing right next to me. His voice sounded alarmed.

"I already know my blood type, Mr. Banner." I said in a weak voice. I really needed to get out. I also couldn't donate blood. My blood was special, it had immortal morphine in its stream. If anyone had any injected into them, it'll kill them- it's like poison to humans. Plus, mine had a very strange tint to it; purple. I don't know why, but Toby and mine blood are red with a teeny bit of purple in it.

"Are you feeling faint?"

No, I'm _hungry._ "Yes, sir," Why didn't I ditch with Edward? Edward… was this the reason he ditched? He'd get hungry like me too? Or was he squeamish?

"Can someone take Bella to the nurse, please?" he called.

I didn't need to look to see that it was Mike who volunteered. His blood gave him away.

"Can you walk?" Mr. Banner asked, concerned.

"Yes…," I said opening my eyes.

Mike slung my arm over his shoulder and put his hand around my waist- he was ecstatic that he got to hold me that way. Actually, to hold me at all. I _really _didn't want him near me; the blood trickling down his finger and to his wrist is enough temptation for me to kill everyone here. I leaned against him heavily as we left the classroom.

Mike towed me slowly across campus in the direction of the nurse's office. When we were around the edge of the cafeteria, out of sight of building four, I stopped.

"Just… let me sit down for a while, please?" I begged. Hopefully, the cold sidewalk would calm me down. I was around five seconds away from transfiguring and taking Mike right then and there.

He did as I asked and set me down.

"Keep your finger in your pocket too." I don't need to smell the blood…

I slumped against the cold sidewalk and my mind cleared a bit. My cheek rested against the ground and felt _a lot_ better.

"Wow, you're green, Bella." Oops, I should take it down a bit. I used my shifter power to make the green a barely noticeable tint in the pigment.

"Bella?" a different voice rang from the distance.

Oh no! Please, not him- anyone but him!

"What's wrong- is she hurt?" His voice came closer now and he sounded upset. I wasn't imagining it- he really was here, and worrying about me. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter.

Mike was stressed- he didn't want Edward here… around me… ever. "I think she fainted. I don't know what happened- she didn't even stick her finger."

"Bella." Edward's voice was right by me, relieved this time. "Can you hear me?"

"Uh-uh. Go away." I groaned. I was starving and I wanted to go home and hunt.

He chuckled.

"I was taking her to the nurse," mike explained in a defensive tone. "But she won't go any farther."

"I'll take her," Edward was smiling- I saw through Mike. "You can go back to class."

"No," Mike protested. "I'm supposed to do it."

Suddenly, the sidewalk disappeared from beneath me and I was being carried by something just as cold. My eyes flew open in shock because a person should not be that cold. Edward had scooped me up and was holding me, gingerly, bridal- style. He seemed like he was having no trouble- like I weighed 10 pounds instead of 110.

"Put me down!" Please, please- I hate being carried! He was walking before I finished talking.

"Hey!" Mike called. He was already ten paces behind us.

Edward ignored him. "You look awful," he told me, grinning.

"Put me back on the sidewalk." I moaned, keeping up the charade. I really didn't like being held by Edward- I mean, don't get me wrong- he was really strong and I didn't mind that it was _him _carrying me, but I was starting to get a little uncomfortable.

"So you faint at the sight of blood?" he asked. He was amused by this little tid-bit about me.

I didn't answer. I just kept my mouth shut.

"And not even your own blood," he continued, enjoying himself.

He opened the door to the office by kicking it open. The room was warm.

"Oh my," Ms. Cope, the receptionist, ran to open the door to the nurse's office.

"She fainted in Biology," Edward explained while walking over to the open door.

When we walked in the nurse's office, the nurse looked up from a novel and watched as Edward swung me onto the crackly paper on the one cot. Then he moved to the other side of the room and leaned against the wall. His eyes were bright, excited.

"She's just a little faint," he reassured the startled nurse. "They're blood typing in Biology."

The nurse nodded sagely. "There's always one."

He muffled a snicker.

"Just lie down for a minute, honey; it'll pass."

"I know," I sighed. I didn't want any attention! I used my 'talent' and started to get rid of the green on my face.

"Does this happen a lot?" she asked.

"Sometimes," Never, actually. Edward coughed to hide another laugh.

"You can go back to class, now, Mr. Cullen." she told him.  
"I'm supposed to stay with her," he said confidently.

I needed him and the nurse to leave so I can look normal. I planted a thought in the nurse's head.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cullen. But you should get back to class." she responded using my comment.

"Mr. Banner told me to stay with her. I can't deny his orders." he countered, slightly confused. He was surprised that someone disagreed with him. Apparently, he's always gotten his way.

She pursed her lips. "Fine," She turned back to me. "I'll go get you an ice pack for your forehead, dear." She left.

"You were right," I moaned, letting my eyes close.

"I usually am- but what about this time?"

"Ditching _is_ healthy." For others, it's healthy for the queasy reason. For my kind, it's healthy to _not _smell blood.

"You scared me for a minute there," he admitted after a pause. He sounded like he was ashamed to admit it. "I thought Newton was dragging your dead body off to bury it in the woods."

"Ha, ha." Wow, I must've overdone the _sickly_ look, huh?

"Honestly, I've seen corpses with better color," Oops, I need to practice changing color. "I was concerned that I might have to avenge your murder."

"Poor Mike. I'll bet he's mad." And I'd win that bet.

"He absolutely loathes me," Edward said cheerfully.

"Yeah…," I opened my eyes and looked at him. I smiled. "He does."

He smiled crookedly at me.

"How did you see me? I thought you were ditching," My color was returning to normal and I looked back up at the white ceiling.

"I was in the car listening to a CD." That was too normal of an answer- it surprised me.

The nurse walked back in and I sat up. She had a cold compress in her hand.

"Here you go, dear," She held it to my forehead. "You're looking better."

"I think I'm fine." I handed the compress back to her.

She was about to argue and I sent her a thought she couldn't argue with.

_Bella looks fine. She doesn't need to stay in here any longer. Let her be on her way._

"Alright, dear. Just come back if you feel sick again, okay?"

I nodded and got off the cot as Ms. Cope opened the door.

"We've got another one." she warned.

Mike staggered in through the door supporting an almost unconscious Lee Stephens, another boy from our Biology class. He was wishing that was me he was holding. Edward and I moved out of the way and stood by the door.

"Oh no," Edward muttered. "Go out to the office, Bella."

I whirled and got out of the nurse's office before he finished talking.

"You actually listened to me," he pointed out as we walked into the front office.

I looked at him. "I smelled the blood." I did- it was hard not to.

"People can't smell blood," he contradicted.

Crap! "Well, I can. That's what made me have to leave- it's so _potent._" I grimaced to make it seem like I hated the smell- exactly the opposite, I loved the smell; that was the problem.

He was staring at me intensely with an unfathomable expression. His emotions were all jumbled so I couldn't understand what he was feeling or thinking. Emotions are my entry point to read someone's mind.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing… It's nothing."

Mike came through the door then, glancing from me to Edward. The look he gave Edward showed that he _did_ indeed hate him.

"_You _look better." he accused.

"Just keep your hand in your pocket." I warned him.

"It's not bleeding anymore," he muttered. "Are you going back to class?"

"Are you kidding? I'd just have to come back." I pointed out the obvious.

He sighed. Edward was standing away from us, to give us privacy. "Are you _sure _you can't come this weekend?" Mike thought that if I had accepted the offer, it'd be like a group date- and I'd be his.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's just… I haven't seen my family in so long. You know- you'd want to spend some time with family you haven't seen, right?"

He thought a moment. "Yeah, not really. All my relatives are way older than me."

"Well, everyone in my family is around the same age. Some under, some over- it varies. Anyway, this is the last time I'll see them this year." I lied casually. I was actually going to see them soon over the summer.

"Whatever," he said with a sour attitude. "I'll see you in gym." With that he walked off. Before he was completely out of the room, he shot me a wary, confused, concerned glance. He was thinking of Edward and I being _together._ He hated Edward and didn't want me near him; he thought he owned me. I almost growled at him. I _hate_ guys like that.

"Gym…," I groaned. I did _not_ want to see Mike's face and feel his resentment towards Edward.

"I can take care of that," Edward said. He now stood next to me. "Go sit down and look pale." No problem…

I did as he said and sat down in one of the folding chairs. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against the wall behind me. I used my shifter skills to change the tone of the pigment of my skin from fair to clammy and sick. I snuck into Edward's mind to see how it looked.

Perfect. I got back out as soon as he turned to talk to Ms. Cope, who was now back at her desk.

"Ms. Cope?" he said softly.

"Yes?"

"Bella has gym next hour and I don't think it'd be a good idea for her to run around after this… episode." He was laughing on the inside. "I think I should take her home. Do you think you could excuse her from class?" His voice was like melting honey.

I was about to burst out laughing because I heard Ms. Cope's thoughts.

_Too young! Too young! Too young! _They chanted.

"Do you need to be excused too, Edward?" she fluttered.

"No, I have Mrs. Goff- she won't mind in the least."

"Alright then, it's all taken care of." she cheered. "You take care, Bella." she wished me.

I grunted my confirmation. I put my head in my hands and opened my eyes. I changed my skin color back to normal at a non-noticeable rate.

"Can you walk or do you need me to carry you again?" he was facing me and Ms. Cope was no longer at her desk. Edward was smirking.

I dropped my hands and stood up. "Thanks for the offer, but I'll walk." I did a slight smile back to show I was joking.

We walked out of the office and into the rainy outdoors. Edward had held the door open for me.

"Thank you," I chided him. "I could have done better with Ms. Cope but… you did enough." I smirked at him. The truth was, was that I _could _do a lot better. I could just say, 'let me go home' and plant the thought in her head and she'd say, 'of course.'

"Uh-huh, sure you could." skeptic- of course. No one knows and shouldn't know the kind of power I have. "So, what was Newton asking about?"

"I figured you'd be listening. He and a couple of other kids were going to go down to First Beach down in La Push. I couldn't go-like I said before, my family's in town."

"Oh," he said. He was curious about something and- as usual- I didn't know what.

I started walking in the direction of my car when a hand grabbed a fistful of the back of my jacket. Edward started pulling me away. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, outraged.

"To my car." I said. Wasn't it obvious?

"Didn't you hear me promise to take you home and make sure you get there safely? Did you really think that I was going to let you drive yourself home in your condition?" his voice was indignant.

I stood my ground- literally. He was pulling me to his car and I planted my feet down. I stopped and he did as well.

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow. "Condition?" I fumed. I was perfectly fine- shifters don't get sick, ever.

"Yes, Bella. You just fainted and you got dizzy- that would be under the category of 'condition.'" he pointed out.

I shrugged his hand off my jacket. "I'm perfectly fine now, thanks for your concern. I think I can handle driving." I started walking again. I may like Edward, but I didn't want to be in a car with him when he thought I was weak.

He grabbed my jacket again. "How would that look to the teachers? Hmm? You driving home after your little spell? And after I specifically told Ms. Cope that _I'd _be the one driving you home, not yourself?" He was strong enough to hold me in place.

I sighed, not looking at him. "It would look like I was fine after I fainted and I was capable of driving. And it'd show that you _do _lie once in a while." I answered.

He sighed this time. "That was a _rhetorical _question, Bella." he sounded exasperated.

"I know," I looked at him. "Fine. I'll let you drive me home- only because your car is closer."

We started walking to his car. "I'll have Alice drop yours off at home later." He said after a while.

We got into his car and he turned the heat up. He started the car and drove off school grounds.

"Would you mind turning the heat down?" I asked him.

"I thought you might be cold." he answered, looking at the road.

I shrugged and went to turn the heat off. Then, I noticed the music playing softly in the car.

I looked at him, shocked. "Claire De Lune?"

"You know Debussy?" He sounded shocked too.

"Yes, I- I love him. His music is so relaxing." It seems as though we have something in common- aside from crazy strength, speed, and compulsion.

We listened to the music for a while and, all of a sudden, he asked me a question.

"Who was that little kid with Charlie at the hospital the day of the car accident?"

"Uh- Toby. He's a family member. Why?"

"I've never seen him around before. He looks friendly- what's he like?"

"Uh," I was shocked he asked me about him. "He _is_ nice. And sweet. He cares about people a lot. He can get irresponsible sometimes; he's a brave little guy. And outgoing. He's also slightly eccentric. He's an amazing little 9 year old." I sounded extremely loving.

"How old are you, Bella?" his voice held some frustration.

I got nervous for a second. "Seventeen, why?" Surely, he couldn't know…

He had stopped the car and I looked out the windshield to find myself already at Charlie's.

"You don't seem seventeen." he responded.

His voice was reproachful; it made me laugh.

"What?" he asked, curious again.

"My family always told me I was too mature for my age. Since I was little, I thought things through to an extent. If someone was going to do something stupid, I'd think of everything that could happen and try to reason them out of it. I always looked my tests over twice and, sometimes, I took care of the family. That is, until they died."

"If you don't mind me asking," he began hesitantly. "What happened to your parents and brother?"

I sighed, it was a little shaky. I hadn't talked about that in years. "Um, my father was sick and his system couldn't fight it so… yeah. My mom… she broke something and it got infected and it spread and got to her." I took a deep breath. Talking about Joseph hurt the most. "My brother Joseph… was- was killed." I looked away from Edward's face.

"I'm sorry…" he sounded so pained like he was the one who had to witness it.

"It's okay." I dismissed. I didn't want to talk about it- hopefully, he understands.

He did. "You should go, Bella. I have to get back to my family."

I nodded and got out. Before he backed out the driveway. I tossed him my keys through the open window. I walked toward the house and Toby opened the front door and ran to me. I picked him up and set him on my hip.

"Hey, baby…" I murmured to him. Ariel, Teddy, and Sonja walked out of the house. They looked at Edward and then at me, confusion in their feelings. "They did blood typing in class today."

They burst out. I heard Edward laugh and then he drove off.

"Guys! Nothing happened! I faked sick and was brought to the nurse. He just drove me home because the teachers made him." I explained. They all shut up.

Toby was hugging me tightly. "What's wrong, baby?" I asked him.

"You yelled in my ear…"

"Sorry," I put him down on the ground. "Go play inside."

He ran into the house and everyone else followed. I was the last to go in. I looked back in the direction Edward had left and I smiled.


	5. Chapt 5: Hunting Your Love

**Disclaimer: I forgot this in the last two chapters, I think. Anyway, I do not own Twilight. If I did, my name would be Stephenie Meyer but I'm not, so it isn't.**

**Chapter 5:**

I turned around to walk farther into the house but Ariel literally pounced on me. She's a very perky shifter. She had a very big smile on her face and was blocking me out of her mind.

I looked straight into her eyes and said with a smooth, silky voice, "Tell me… what you have planned for me… or you'll sit on the floor like a potato."

Her eyes glazed over and she told me, "You and Teddy are going to fight." Then she snapped out of it and backed away. "Okay, you are getting _freaky, _Bella!" She laughed.

Sonja grabbed my hand and pulled me out to the backyard. Ariel followed us, skipping.

"But I have homework," I complained. I hated fighting Teddy- he's able to control the air around you and can make it hold you in place.

"Do it later!" yelled Teddy from his spot out back. Toby was standing next to him.

"C'mon! Let's see how much you've improved," he trotted over to me.

He dragged me over to Teddy and placed me right in front of him. I pouted.

"3… 2…1…," Sonja looked from me to Teddy and then back. "GO!"

We just stood there. I stared at Teddy and he was standing in his fighting stance looking back.

"Fight, you guys!" Ariel whined.

"How do you know I'm not making stay there and he's not paralyzing me?" I asked hoping they'd believe me.

Teddy raised an eyebrow. _Bell, come on. I need to fight someone who has a special talent like me. _He thought to me.

I rolled my eyes and then lunged at him. He dodged and while I was sort of 'flying' away, he placed a hand over me and held me there using the air.

It froze me as I just stood there, unable to fully breathe.

"Teddy," I gasped. "Let go." He didn't- he just smiled. "Teddy, let go! I can't-"

He started using the air to push in on my lungs, making my chest move up and down by the slightest of movements. I was gasping for more air. At the last second, when I was about to pass out, he let go and stood back as I caught myself and turned invisible.

"Aw!" he groaned looking around. "Not fair, Bella!"

_Listen for my heartbeat, genius. _I sent to him.

He stopped looking around as I lunged for him and I pinned him to the ground. I turned visible again. Toby and I share a power where we can turn ourselves- as well as others and objects- invisible.

He jerked me off him and I did the matrix backbend as he flung himself at me. He flew over me and I grabbed his wrists and plunged my knee into his gut, making him let out a loud _oof!_

We somehow spun around in the air and I ended up pinning him to the ground. He tried to buck me off and I heard from his mind what he was going to do to get me off. I laughed and leaped off. He went after me. I started doing many back-flips in a row and wound up in between my backyard and the neighbors'. I looked in the direction of the road and saw Edward in his Volvo along with his family, but Alice was driving my Infinity, and she pulled into the driveway. I stopped what I was doing and ran over. I knew I was slightly sweating but I didn't care- the rain was washing it away.

Alice got out of the car and smiled at me. The Volvo was idling near the curb with Edward, Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie in it. "Here," Alice handed me the keys.

"Thanks," I said in between gasping for air. "for, uh, bringing it back. Have fun driving it?" I smiled at her.

She nodded. "It goes _a lot _faster than the other ones." She bounced up and down a bit.

"Yeah, I worked on it a little."

She looked behind me and she seemed a little confused. I could tell what was happening. I held up one finger and silently said, "One second," she nodded still looking behind me. I turned and lunged forward at Teddy who was trying to do a sneak attack on me. He ended up on the ground and I was standing above him, laughing. Alice and Emmett- his laugh is very loud- were laughing as hard as me. Edward, Rosalie, and Jasper were stunned that I could knock over someone twice as big as me.

I helped Teddy up as Sonja, Ariel, and Toby came over. "Hi," they all said to Alice.

She waved.

"Alice, this is Teddy, Sonja, Ariel, and Toby." I pointed to each of them as I introduced them all. "Guys, this is Alice Cullen."

They waved to her.

"So what exactly were you two doing? I saw you back-flip into view." Alice looked at them all and then at me, curiously.

"Oh, we were fighting. We know martial arts and we were practicing." I answered.

My family walked into the garage to get some Snapple for themselves.

"So, do you _like _Teddy?" Alice asked, giggling.

I laughed. "No! No, he's part of the foster family."

"That doesn't mean you can't _like _him. I mean, Jasper is a foster kid living at my house and we're together."

"The way Teddy came into the family is different. He still has his family," Sort of. His dad stayed a shifter but his mom was the human. His mom died fifty years after my father died. "He married Sonja about ten months ago and that's how he joined the giant family." I smiled, remembering their wedding.

"Oh, how sweet," she commented. "but aren't they a little young?"

"No, they're both twenty and when you love someone like they love each other… you just- want to be together and make it official as soon as possible." I looked behind her at Emmett and Rosalie and then at Jasper to Alice. "You and Jasper…," I continued, slowly. "are very lucky to have found one another so early. Same goes for Rosalie and Emmett. And Carlisle and Esme. Anyway, you should get going. They all look a little impatient. Tell your parents I say hello."

She nodded and thought about what I said. She thought I sounded melancholy. She ran to her family and as she got into the car, she waved goodbye, smiling. I waved back and walked into the garage.

The next day at school was very boring and yet… not. I saw Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie getting out of Rosalie's car. Alice looked over at me and smiled. I waved back at her. Emmett and Edward were not there- they went hiking with Carlisle. A little bit after Spanish class- yes, I had to take it. Good news is, is that I'm the assistant; I help out with extra teachings. Anyway, - I was standing by Jess's locker talking to her when someone bumped into me, causing me to drop my books and papers. Jess just snickered and left, leaving me to pick them up by myself. Fortunately, I didn't have to by myself. Alice and Jasper were the ones who bumped me.

"Sorry, Bella." Alice apologized.

"It's alright, you two. It was an accident." I gathered my books and Alice handed me my papers. I stood up as Jasper handed me my folders. "Thanks."

I looked at Jasper and, suddenly, everything clicked. I stared at him in slight shock. He seemed the same way. "C- can I talk to you two for a second, please?" I stuttered. Why didn't I see this before? How could I _not _have recognized him?

Jasper nodded and I led the way to my car. They both followed. I stopped walking and turned around to them when we were by the bumper.

"You need to be completely honest with my do you understand, Jasper _Hale?_" I demanded.

He nodded, confused. "Why'd you put emphasis on _Hale_?" He asked.

"Because, I know that's not your real last name. I know you from my past, Jasper," I was about to say more but Alice squealed.

"How would I know you from your past? I remember everyone I've ever met." He was wary.

"Think back when you weren't pale- when you didn't have golden eyes. When you were _mortal_, Jasper _Whitlock_." I crossed my arms over my chest.

His eyes widened as he remembered me. "Is?"

I nodded and he hugged me. "I wonder where you wondered off to." he said as we broke apart.

"I was helping Giant Clan. I'm their protector. I'm meeting up with everyone lately. First Carlisle and now you. Well, let's not forget my s-" I stopped myself short.

"Your… what?" Alice asked, confused.

"Never mind." I bit my lip. Shoot! I almost gave away that Toby was my son.

"Is, you can trust me. You do know that, don't you?" Jasper gently put a hand on my arm. I looked him in the eyes. I suddenly felt as though I needed someone to vent to.

I glared as I realized what he was getting at. "Jazz," I raised an eyebrow. He looked too innocent.

_She doesn't know that's me…_He thought, smugly.

"Yes, I do," I stated. I pointed to my head. "No one can lie to me and get away with it- except Toby. He can get away with it." I started to ramble.

"Just… Is, you can tell us."

"Please, Bella?" Alice started to pout.

I took a deep breath. "Toby- the little boy you met yesterday, Alice- is my nine year old son." I felt their emotions and they were so shocked, they froze.

"Isabella, how could you have a son?" Jasper was mad. But not at me, at the guy who 'knocked me up' as he put it. He was always an overprotective big brother when it came to me- back then at least.

"I'm a shifter," I stated. "And… I was attacked on my human day. I got hurt pretty badly and, um, I was too weak to fight back. Nine months after that day, Toby was born. That horrible experience gave me the greatest gift of all; a son that loves me- even though he knows of all the horrid things I've done in my… many years."

Alice was bouncing up and down before I finished- then she hugged me. "I can't believe you have a son!" she whisper-shouted. "That is so sweet! I mean, not the experience but the fact that you got something sweet, special, and innocent out of it."

I laughed. "Oh, he's not so innocent. He steals from me constantly."

"Boys always steal from their parents when they're young," Jasper explained with a grin. "It's in their nature."

"Is it in your nature to steal your mother's _personal _dagger just to get it stuck in the wall?" I raised an eyebrow.

They laughed. And then they were curious. I rolled my eyes and made sure no one was looking. I pulled my dagger out from under my pant leg. I held it out to them.

"Bella!" yelled Jasper. "Why do you own a dagger?"

"Protection. Toby called me when I was in Arizona and said that he felt new threats here and he can't protect himself yet so, I hopped on plane and came to protect him." I put the dagger away. "We better get to lunch before people come to look for us."

They nodded and we walked to the cafeteria.

_Make sure _no one _in your family knows about me- Carlisle and Esme know but that's it. No one else must know. _I sent that note to them as I sat next to Jessica.

They both nodded slightly as they sat next to Rosalie.

"What was that about?" asked Jessica and Rosalie at the same time- Rosalie to them and Jessica to me.

I laughed silently and then answered. "They bumped into me and then they helped me pick up my stuff. I thanked Alice for dropping my car off at my house yesterday and then that was it."

"Why did she-?"

"I got queasy from the blood typing in biology and Edward drove me home. Alice drove my car back to my house for me."

None of what I said was what she wanted to hear. She wanted gossip- to gossip about.

After school, my family was surprised to hear about Jasper. And they were furious that I spoke about it in front of Alice. I told them that I sensed she already knew and that it didn't matter. We all went over the plans for the weekend- we were going hunting.

So, the next day, we did go hunting. It was gorgeous out so many animals were going to come out. All of us hadn't hunted in a while. We went to Goat Rocks Wilderness and we were in the middle of a very secluded area.

"Okay, everyone. I made sure that we were far away from trails so just go and have fun. Take as much time as you need. But not as much as you want. Remember, people hunt deer and other things for sport- we need to leave some for that. Split," I called to them. They were all around me. When we hunted in groups, we went in pairs, but this time I'd be alone. Sonja and Teddy would be together and Ariel would show Toby the ropes in group raids. He normally hunted alone.

We morphed into our animal aliases. I was a black jaguar, Toby was a bear cub, Ariel was a grizzly, Sonja was a bobcat, and Teddy was a coyote.

We all went our separate ways and went to find our prey. Normally, on group hunts, you get to relax and just walk around and be free. We had that opportunity.

I stretched my mind out to find my family and they were getting their food by now and I started to as well. I caught two deer and drank their blood right there. I thought I should bring something big back for the group but they all had their portions piled together in one area and they were waiting for me. I lunged at a nearby buck and paralyzed it. I carried it all the way back to my family. That is- I tried. I stepped out into this small open area away from the trails and I saw two people there- Emmett and Edward. They were talking to each other and Emmett seemed to be trying to comfort and calm down Edward. It wasn't working. I could feel the tenor of his emotions- worry, concern, stress, massive headache. And then the wind blew from my direction to them.

They stopped talking and looked in my direction; straight at me. I dropped my big buck and slowly backed away as they stood from the giant rock they sat upon. I looked at them one last time before I ran and they looked happy- here's the thing… when you're traveling and you happen to cross paths with a black jaguar that's not supposed to be in that part of the world… you may want to run or hunt it. Apparently, they chose to hunt me. They ran three seconds after me. I started roaring and growling my alert for the others, hoping they knew that danger was near.

I got to them and sent them a thought: _Run! I stumbled upon two hunters and now they want us- well me. But when they see you, they'll want you, too! Run! Run all the way to Charlie's! _I looked at all of their eyes as they widened in alarm.

Sonja and Teddy were about to run but they stayed and ran over to protect Toby. They knew that they were close. We all took positions in front of Toby. I stood off to the side.

Emmett and Edward ran into the clearing where we were. They looked from me to Ariel to Teddy to Sonja and then to Toby. Emmett showed preference in Toby and Edward seemed to like me more than anyone else. I slightly gulped. I've never been more terrified for my family ever in all my life. When we're in our alias forms, we have no powers but the power to turn back to our human forms. We were defenseless.

_Go! I'll protect Toby! Just run! Toby is my son- my responsibility._ I sent to Ariel, Sonja, and Teddy. They all looked at me. Emmett and Edward saw them looking at me and they looked too. I nodded to my clan. They looked reluctant to leave but they did. One at a time; different directions.

Edward started to walk toward me, slowly. Emmett walked toward a scared-stiff Toby. He just sat there- this has never happened before; humans stumbling into our hunts and wanting to hunt us. Toby was about to whimper and Emmett was about to pounce. I roared. Edward stopped for a second, confused that I growled at Emmett and not him.

"Em," he said quietly. Emmett looked at him and then to me.

Emmett's eyes widened in surprise because of my death glare directed at him. He got curious; he stepped forward one more step. A growl was building in my chest. Another step, and another, and another, and- I growled so loud, the forest practically shook. They smirked. Edward started to advance on me and Emmett to Toby who was backing away. I stood where I was. Edward was about to pounce and then I leaped over him and landed right in front of Emmett, blocking him from Toby. Emmett's laugh boomed out through the forest just like my growl did. I stood protectively in front of Toby. I glared at Emmett. I had no idea that these seemingly harmless people could be so cruel to animals. Then again, I drank their blood- who am I to judge?

"Emmett, look at the way the jaguar is standing," Edward pointed out. "She looks ridiculous! She's acting as though that's her young! Perhaps it fell on its head when it was little."

They chuckled. I got mad. "_RAWR!"_ I growled at them. they thought I couldn't understand them- far from it. The chuckling stopped short. I looked back at Toby for a swift second and in that short second we had, I made my eyes send the message, 'Go!' He looked upset and he whimpered to confirm it, and then he ran as fast as he could as he left. I continued to glare at Emmett.

"Ugh!" he groaned. "Damn cat scared it off."

"No," Edward confusedly said. "It thought the jag said to go. It was following its orders as if it were its mother. Hey, Em, why don't you go after it?" It seemed as though Edward was trying to provoke me to run or attack. Or he was merely suggesting that to Emmett. I didn't care.

I lunged myself at Emmett and, right when I was about to slam into him, he said, "Stupid cat." I pushed all my weight into knocking him down and I did. I landed on top of him and I growled right in his face. Edward stood there stunned that I could knock Emmett –the giant- over. Emmett lay there scared because, apparently, no one and nothing could knock him over.

"Emmett, don't move. Obviously, that is no regular jaguar if it can knock you down." Edward pointed out. He backed up a bit, keeping his eyes on me. I looked up for a second and soon regretted it. Emmett punched my gut and I flew backward. I slid across the forest floor and then rolled over onto my four feet.

Emmett was standing by now, ready to fight. "That thing should be dead by now…," he murmured. "I punched it with a lot of force."

I ran out of there as fast as I could. I ran all the way to Charlie's and ended up in the woodsy area behind it. I morphed back into my human state and ran to the house. I made to the back door- it was open- and collapsed in the doorframe. I balanced on my hands and knees clutching my gut. I couldn't breathe and I felt dizzy. He really did hit it hard.

"Oh my God, Bella!" Charlie was home and he ran to me. He helped me to my feet only to have me fall back down. "Bella, you have to get up. Toby's here and you don't want him to see you're weak, do you?" Okay, that got me to stand up. I got up slowly and Charlie guided me to the couch in the family room. I lay down and I closed my eyes.

Toby shook me. I opened my eyes. "What happened?" he asked, nervous. I sat up and held him close to my chest. I grabbed his hand and showed him exactly everything from when he left to that moment in the doorway. He winced when he heard the air rush out of my lungs when Emmett punched me.

Teddy came into the room and saw that I was out of breath. He used the air to refill my lungs and heal them. "Bella," he started.

Sonja and Ariel walked in.

"We need to talk," Sonja crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"You knew those kids, didn't you?" asked Ariel.

I was about to answer when Teddy interrupted me. "Let me handle this," he turned to me. "Did you?"

I nodded. "They came here yesterday with Alice. That was Edward and Emmett Cullen. They were adopted by Carlisle."

Chaos broke loose. Sonja was screaming at me while Ariel was yelling at no one in particular and Teddy was also yelling at me.

"SHUT UP!" Toby yelled at them, covering his ears. "God, wait 'till I'm out of the room before you go crazy!" He ran out of the room.

"Bella, what the hell's wrong with you?!" yelled Teddy.

"Nothing-"

"Bella! They're bad people! They wanted to kill us- especially you!" Sonja was fuming.

"They didn't know it was me!"

"They're vampires just like Esme and Carlisle." interjected Ariel.

"…," I didn't know what to say. "You don't know that,"

Teddy cut me off before I finished. "Isabella, they're pale, they've golden eyes, they hunt away from trails… add that up and you have the answer; vampires. They like your scent the most! They could find out it was you and they could kill you Monday at school!"

"If they wanted to kill me, they-" Teddy took away some air to make me stop talking.

"Bella," Ariel said gently. "A shifter's scent is more potent and delicious than a human's. And since we're half human, it makes it all the more appealing. So you can't just go prancing around those guys! Even if they like animal blood more than human."

"And- FYI, Bella- we turn into animals which makes us on their hit list!" yelled Sonja.

I grabbed Teddy's sleeve. I was started to lose consciousness. I widened my eyes and looked at Teddy. He gave me my air back and I gladly gasped for it. "Carlisle is their father, Esme is their mother… They are good people! They won't hurt humans. Or shifters- or even half-shifter, half-humans."

"Do you know why Edward seemed so familiar to you? It's because when you were with Carlisle and Esme, Edward was with them. But not at the time. He was off _killing _people, Bella! The only way you knew what he looked like was because of a photo and seeing his face in Esme's mind! You knew he was one of them, but you didn't believe it! You didn't _want _to believe he was a vampire- _is _a vampire!" Ariel raised her voice at me. "He's a murderer!"

"You don't know that! He could have accidentally killed people or… you could be making all this up!" I yelled, standing up.

"Damn it, Bella! You're blinded by love!" Teddy stood next to me. He was a good five inches taller so he towered over me; he changed his height for the authority figure effect.

"What? No! I am _not..._," I looked at them. "I mean, I can't… I don't love him. And," I faced Teddy. "Who are _you _to think you can scare me?! I led you- all of you-!" I looked at all of them. "to find Giant Clan! If it weren't for me, you'd all be lost or dead because you went out of control or Hackers could have gotten to you. I am way, way, _way _older than all of you! I thought of all of you as family- I treated you like it… and this is how you repay me," I was on the verge of tears. I couldn't believe this. My family was about to be split up. They all looked upset too. They looked like me; uncomfortable, sad, angry, and mostly in pain- like, they were all sorry and it pained them to fight with me. They thought of me as a second mother more than a sister. When Sharon (our mother-like figure) was busy, I took care of them all. I was muttering and pleading by now. "I don't want to fight you guys. Sure I'll practice fight like yesterday. But not like this. So what… if I'm in love? Hmm? I love him… and Sonja loves Teddy… and Teddy loves Sonja. I don't _want _to split up. The thing is, with this boy that I _do _love, he doesn't love me back. You two," I motioned to Sonja and Teddy. "Have _no idea _how lucky you are to have found each other. With out your soul mate, you're depressed and upset and you grieve- wishing… just wishing… that you could find that certain someone out there. Even if you don't know it, you're doing just that. And if Edward is Carlisle's son- and lives among humans in perfect harmony-, then I know- I don't mean think… I _know _that he's a good person. Can't you all just be happy that I've found the person I love and that I've found my long-lost friend?" I looked at them all, hopeful.

Slowly, but surely, they nodded. Sonja and Teddy held hands and Ariel hugged me.

"We're sorry we lashed out at you," mumbled Teddy.

Then he started to do the chicken dance. He glared at me. "Bella, cut it out. I said that I was sorry!"

"I turned in the direction of the stairs. "Toby!" I called. "Please, stop!"

Teddy stopped dancing and thanked me. Toby has a power where he can copy someone else's power. Like, if someone can read minds- he can read minds. If someone could materialize something- he could materialize something. And he can turn it on and off too.

"Bella, let me see the wound you have," Teddy suggested. I nodded and I lay down on the couch. Teddy shoved me shirt away from my abdomen. He froze. "Oh my Lord…," he mumbled.

"What?" Ariel, Sonja, and I asked in unison.

He just looked at my gut. I sat up and looked as well. _I_ froze. There, on my abdomen, was this monster welt. It was red, blue, and black. It covered a large space on me and it hurt- a lot.

"Oh Lord…" Ariel ran out of the room and came back with a bucket. I looked at it. "Trust me,"

All of the sudden I was kneeling on the floor, throwing up in the big bucket. Sonja was holding my hair back and Teddy was holding the bucket. Ariel went to the kitchen for a cold, wet rag. I stopped barfing for a couple minutes.

"Bella, you didn't just puke, you- you…" Teddy inclined his head to the bucket and I looked in. Inside the bucket, was puke and blood. And it wasn't blood from the animals that I just had- it was my blood.

"Oh dear…," I mumbled before throwing up again. It didn't last long. After that second time, I just sat there groaning. Ariel came in with the rag and a glass of water. I drank the water and I lay back down on the couch with the rag over my eyes.

"Okay, so we know that the barfing is from the sucker-punch. Not because she's sick. I mean, we can't get sick," Ariel was pacing around the room. "Can we?" She got a little panicky so I sent her reassuring thoughts.

"It was the punch. Oh man, did that hurt!" I rubbed my now healed abdomen. "Note to self: stay away from Emmett."

They all chuckled. They went to the basement and went to sleep. I fell asleep on the couch. My stomach still hurt but not as much. I didn't really dream of much- except Edward.

In my dream, I was sitting on the hood of my car and I was talking to Jasper and Alice. Alice laughed and Jasper walked away. I was confused. Alice looked in his direction and she gasped.

"Bella, I'm so sorry but I have to go!" she called to me as she ran away to where Jasper had left only moments ago. What scared me was that Alice and Jasper moved as fast as vampires.

"That's because they are," came a soft voice. I turned toward it. It was Edward. He was sitting on the roof of my car and he slid down to where I sat. In less than a moment, our faces were only inches apart. It wasn't romantic if that's what you're thinking. He didn't look at me like I was beautiful, he looked at me as though I were his lunch. I backed up a bit, a little creeped out. He chuckled and I saw fangs where his incisors were supposed to be. I fell off the roof of my car. He jumped off and helped me up, but he wouldn't let me go. I couldn't escape his grasp. He smirked at me as I struggled. "You know what _I _am, don't you?" he taunted, his mouth inches away from my neck.

My breathing spiked. I was terrified. Today was my human day. "Yes…," I reluctantly whispered.

"You _do _know what's going to happen now, don't you?" he breathed against my neck.

I struggled once more, trying to shove him away. I did know; he was going to bite me and kill me. "Over my dead body!" I grunted. I almost got out of his grasp but then I could hold of his eyes.

"You are going to stay right here in my arms. You're safe here- Trust me." He looked so sincere, I believed him. I snuggled into his arms and he lowered his mouth back to my neck.

He was knocked out of my arms and he was on the floor, looking up at Teddy and Sonja. They looked angry. "You will _not _bite our sister!" they yelled at him.

He laughed and stood up. He faced me. "Bella," His voice seemed to caress my name. "Do you want to stay with me? Come over here if you want to be with me." I started to walk over to him but then Ariel popped in and held me around the waist- preventing me from moving any farther.

I started shrieking and screaming for her to let me go and then I realized what was going to happen. "No! No, no, Sonja, Teddy! Don't please!" I sobbed.

They lunged at Edward with their daggers in their hands, shining… taunting me. I screamed and woke up. I was still on the couch at Charlie's. I stood up and went into the kitchen. I grabbed a Snapple from the fridge and went outside to the backyard. I climbed the side of the house and sat on the roof. Every once in a while, I'd take a sip of the Snapple. Once I was finished, I tossed it off the roof and right before it hit the ground, I waved my finger at it and aimed it at the garbage can. It went it with a quiet rattle. I looked up at the stars.

Is he really a vampire? How could I not see it before? Maybe… just maybe, I _was_ blinded by love. I knew the signs, why didn't I think it possible? My love life's a wreck. I jumped down from the roof and landed in a tree near my window. I leaped off the branch and landed on the ground. The woods looked so inviting tonight. I walked over to the area and in. I walked pretty far and sat on one of the fallen trees. It was so dry and peaceful. There were no worries out here. I wanted to stay forever. But of course, daylight came all too soon and I walked back to Charlie's. It was taking too long so I used my speed and ran. I ended up in the tree outside my window and I opened my window and climbed in. I was surprised to find that the window didn't stick. It slid all the way without a sound and with no effort. I closed it and went to my closet. I grabbed some clothes and then I took a shower. I brushed my teeth and got dressed. My hair was still wet and the hair dryer would take forever.

I had an idea. I went downstairs and was greeted by everyone. I nodded my hello and went out the backdoor through the kitchen. They got curious so guess what? They followed. I put a hand up to tell them to wait. I went farther into the backyard and looked around. No one was watching- correction; no _human _was watching… except Charlie. I used my 'super-speed' and ran three blocks away and back in less than one minute. When I came back home, my hair was dry and smooth and beautiful. My family looked impressed and then we all looked at the sky. It was beautiful when you could see the sun and sky so clearly and not hidden behind clouds.

I said goodbye to my family and left for school. Little did I know, my good day was going to turn sour with one boy…

**Well, what'd you think? I hope you liked it. When I read over the fight Bella had with Sonja, Teddy, and Ariel, I read it aloud and with the right emotion and I started to cry. I don't know why but I think it's because **_**I know what's going to happen with all of them**_**! LOL! I'm just joking- nothing will happen to **_**them.**_** Anyway, I hope it was good. This week is Thanksgiving so I'm not going to update until next week. BUT… if you want more, I **_**could**_** give you more. If I got nine (9) reviews for this story or my Maximum Ride story or both combined- or… for this chapter. Oooh! I'm so evil! And I left you with a cliffie! But I think you know who the boy is, though.**

**Tootles,**

**~~~~Amy-Katherine914~~~~**


	6. Chapt 6: Boring, boring, and boring

**Hey! Hi, sorry! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, my English teacher had my class write short story about a picture she gave us; it was a dirt path leading into the woods. Anyway, I've spent all week on that and my family's been hogging the computer. I've been trying to update and so here it is! Check out my poll, if you will. It's about my Max Ride story, though, I would like everyone to use it- I need to know what you guys like! Anyway, Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, SM does. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 6:**

I had gotten to school about twenty to thirty minutes before everyone else so I had a little time to myself. I went over to the benches and sat down on my raincoat that I had brought just in case the sun decided that coming back was a bad idea. I set it down, sat on it, and pulled out my drawing pad. I looked out at the scenery in front of me.

There was a woodsy area in back of the school grounds. There was green everywhere and the sky was pure blue with barely any clouds; the sun was gorgeous. There were wild flowers and planted flowers everywhere. I smiled and started sketching at my special speed. I was almost done with the sketch when I noticed that I drew a pair of eyes, a nose, and a mouth with fangs looking at me; the features sort of related to Edward's. I quickly erased them.

I had no idea why I drew fangs, vampires don't have fangs. I wasn't really aware of everything happening behind me.

"Bella!" I heard someone shout my name, and it sounded like Mike. I looked around behind me and realized that school was actually about to start. Everyone was in T-shirts and shorts or half-pants, though the temperature couldn't be over sixty. Mike was jogging toward me in khaki shorts and a striped Rugby shirt, waving.

"Hey, Mike," I called, waving back, unable to be half-hearted this morning since it was so nice out.

He came to sit by me; his hair was shining golden in the sunlight. A grin spread across his face and I had difficulty keeping my grin on: I had heard what he wanted to talk about.

_See, she likes me. Se wouldn't smile at me like that if she didn't. I bet she wanted to go to the dance with me. Wonder what's so important in Seattle… _He thought I liked him that way. Oh God! I felt horrible, I couldn't return the feelings and, plus, I'm a little too old for him. He wanted to ask me out.

He looked at the top of my head for a second before pinching a piece of my hair that was flying in the breeze. "I've never noticed before," he looked into my eyes. "You're hair has a reddish tint to it." He tucked the piece of hair behind my ear.

I was used to the gesture, a lot of guys had done that and my mother used to do that back when she was alive. I shrugged and continued drawing. "Only in the sun. When the moon is out, it looks black with a shade of purple." And I didn't make it that way…

"Oh cool. Whoa," he looked at what I was drawing. "That's amazing. Did you take art lessons?"

I shook my head, pursing my lips. What was I going to say to him?

"So what'd you do yesterday?" his tone was just a bit too proprietary.

"Mostly worked on my essay." I lied casually- I actually finished it the day it was assigned.

Mike smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Oh yeah, the essay. It's due Thursday, right?"

"Wednesday…," I was really happy I told him about the essay- I just diminished his free time.

"Oh," He was disappointed. "I guess I have to work on it tonight." He mumbled. I winced in sympathy. "But, um, I was actually going to ask you out."

"Oh, um," I thought he was going to drop it! I was about to answer when I heard something large snap. I turned my head in that direction- force of habit. I acted like I was thinking. I was actually trying to see into the woods, but it was too thick.

"Well, we could go to dinner… And I can work on it later." He smiled at me hopefully.

I stood up slowly. "Mike..," I started putting my things back in my bag and I was avoiding his eyes. Why did he have to make me feel so guilty about my feelings with his thoughts? His thoughts were so out there too. He created a me in his mind where I was just as generic and childish as he. "I don't think… that that'd be a good idea." I slung my bag over my shoulder.

"Why?" he asked, his eyes guarded. His thoughts went to Edward. I really didn't like the way he perceived Edward; in Mike's mind, he thought Edward was a freak of nature and, to me, Mike was sort of a jerk who thought that he could get whatever he wanted without asking; that included me.

"I think… that it would hurt Jessica's feelings- and don't tell _anyone _what I just said.

This kid was so blind- he had no idea that Jessica liked him. Well, I'll play little matchmaker- after all, I did hook Sonja and Teddy up and they've been married for…… many, many years. "Jessica?"

"Honestly, how blind could you get?" I asked, jokingly. I chuckled as I read his mind, he saw that I was- good.

"Oh," he exhaled and started to think about Jessica; her personality and her body. I wanted to growl.

"I have to get to class, I can't be late again." I used an escape and left him, running over to the crowd of students entering the school.

When I saw Jess in Trig, she was bubbling with enthusiasm. She, Lauren, and Angela were going dress shopping in Port Angeles tonight. She asked me to go with but I didn't want to be near Lauren and I didn't need to. It would be nice to get out of town with a couple of my human girlfriends. I wouldn't mind dealing with Lauren but she might with me. I told Jessica a maybe. I had to 'talk to Charlie first' was what I had told her. She thought he was my foster father so he had to come into my decision making.

She talked about nothing but the dance the entire time from Trig to Spanish to lunch. I wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying; I was too sad. My mind kept wandering to the Cullens and Hales. I wanted to see my old friend Jasper and my new friends Alice and Edward. And sort of Rosalie and Emmett. They were alright. Even though Emmett tried to eat my baby.

As I walked into Biology, I saw my empty table. I knew that Edward and his family couldn't go out into the sun; I knew that, I did. But I still wanted to see his face. I knew what he was, and I didn't care. I could read his mind so I would know if he was planning on attacking me. Or drinking my precious blood. Shifter blood can never be infected so shifters can't get sick. If someone were to be injected with our blood, it could cure any illness they have. That's one reason why my kind has almost become extinct; hunters find us, kill us, and use our blood for that use. We're people too, you know! Sorry for the rant…

I didn't pay any attention during any more of my classes. I was glad to get to my car and I froze when I was at the door. I over heard someone's conversation. I tilted my head in that direction.

_"Yeah, I'm telling you the truth. She said yes to prom with me."_

_"No way. She said no to me and Eric; why would he say yes to you?"_

It was Tyler and Mike.

_"Because I owe her for the car wreck. I almost hit her- this is how I'm going to repay her. Trust me, she's happy."_

_"Uh- huh. Sure she is. Hey, I'll se ya later?"_

I was furious! Tyler was telling people that I was going to prom with him; I tried telling him _no! _I don't want to go with that cocky jerk! I slammed my car door shut and walked over to him a small glare on my face. He was talking to another one of his friends.

"Tyler," I interrupted him. He looked at me. I was seething beneath the surface. "Can I have word? Now? Alone, if you don't mind…,"

He told his friend to wait a second and he followed me over by my car. Now I was looking right at him and I had a full glare on my face. He was a little afraid in that second; good.

I huffed out my breath. "Why are you telling people I'm going to prom with you?"

"'Cause we're going together. I asked the other day and you agreed, remember? I walked over to your car while we were stuck behind Cullen? We are going, aren't we? I need to repay you for almost crushing you,"

"Tyler, I told you; you don't need to repay me! And I never agreed! You walked away before I could respond. I understand that you feel bad about the accident, but I'm alive and it wasn't your fault. But I also know your ulterior motive- don't just think that I think it's because of the car wreck. You're smug about having a date with the new girl _who never agreed to go out with you!" _ I almost shouted the last part. "I'm not going to prom with you; I don't go to dances."

"Why not?" he sounded upset and hurt but he was really surprised that I found out about his real motive.

"Because," I responded. "I don't think that's any of your business." I walked to my car door and opened it. I got in as he walked away. I drove home and calmed down before I got through the front door.

I walked in and the phone rang; it was Jessica- she had to cancel tonight's plans since she's going out with Mike tonight. I went up to my room and turned on my iPod; I had classical music on there. Toby walked in.

"Ew… What's with you and classical music? It's lame." he said.

"Hey, I grew up with this music, alright? When you're my age, you'll hear all the other music out there at the time and you'll like the music you grew up with better. Trust me on that," I smiled at him as he sat down next to me.

"Are you dating anybody?" he asked suddenly. His expression was wary.

"No, why?" I laughed.

"Because I know all the boys here; they're horrible. Trust me, you wouldn't like them." He scrunched up his nose in disgust.

I kissed his forehead. "Relax. I won't be dating anyone for a long while. Maybe never. After all, I haven't liked anyone yet so what are the chances?"

Ariel burst in my room, squealing and jumping about like crazy. "Oh my God! I just saw the greatest thing ever!" she yelled with enthusiasm.

"What?" I was wary- I knew it was good but she goes crazy when it's good news.

She squealed and giggled again. "The special someone's family will accept you for who you are! They won't care what you are! Even the stubborn one!"

I took a deep breath. "Ariel, there is no special someone- the guy I like doesn't like me." Toby looked at me in shock. I ignored my little angry son. "And I've already met most of them so I already know they approve."

Toby stood up and crossed his arms to try to look tough. "Who's the guy?" He asked, deepening his voice. "I'll knock some sense into him. No one can't not love you; you're awesome! He has some crazy malfunction in his system. Want me to beat him up for you?" He smiled suddenly.

I stood up and towered over him. "No, it's okay. It doesn't matter if he doesn't like me. Nothing will happen; we're fine on our own." They could hear the sadness in my voice.

"Mom! C'mon, I love you and all, but you gotta try it with this guy?"

"Excuse me?" I crossed my arms.

"I need a guy around me that isn't always working like Charlie or drooling over Sonja like Teddy. The rest of the clan is great but…,"

I sighed, understanding. "But you want to have a father that was picked for you." I turned to Ariel. "Zip it!" she knew that his wish would come true but I didn't want his hopes up- the future can change.

They went back to their respectable rooms and I went to the backyard. I had a quilt with me and I was going to read. I put the quilt on the slightly damp ground and lay down on my stomach. I was criss-crossing my ankles in the air. I was reading a book with many novels in it. I read the first story but stopped; it had the name Edward in it. I wanted him out of my mind not coming back every time I see his name. I read the second story; the hero was named Edmund- too close. Frustrated, I closed the book and turned over onto my back. I closed my eyes and relaxed myself.

I opened my eyes and it was dark out. I must've fallen asleep. I ran inside and put a pizza in the oven for Charlie. When it was done, Charlie came home.

"Hey good timing, Charlie. I just made you a pizza." I called to him as he walked through the front of the house to the kitchen. I was pulling the pizza out using my bare hands.

"Bella! Use oven mitts!' he yelled, alarmed.

I set the pizza on the counter to cool down. I held up my hands to show that I wasn't burnt. "Relax, Charlie. Nothing happened. We can't burn but we can break- there's a difference."

"I only see the similarity: getting hurt." He cut a slice off the pizza and put it on a plate. He took a bite. "Although, I am glad you cooked for me."

I rolled my eyes and headed upstairs. I went to my room and fell asleep.

The next day, it was sunny again; the Cullens and Hales couldn't come to school…again. Throughout the day, I was just hoping for more cloud cover so I could see them. I was so used to seeing them around the school. The day did pass by in a blur and Lauren canceled on the shopping trip so it was just me, Jess, and Ang. I was okay with that.

After school, Jessica followed me home so she could drive me and Angela down to Port Angeles. I left my car at home and left my bag there too but I grabbed my purse. We drove to Angela's and picked her up and then we drove away from Forks to start our dress- scavenging of a day. I was excited to get out of town limits. I wanted to go to a book store and get some new books and possibly a couple shirts from the stores we were going to. Port Angeles, here we come!

**Okay, there you have it. Chapter 6 is up and everyone's happy. Nothing special happened in this chapter in the book so there was nothing to do- I wanted to skip it but apparently it was essential. Anyway, chapter 7 will be up soon. There'll be more- a lot more- and there will be fighting and screaming and Carlisle and explanations and other stuff! So stay tuned. I'll even add a new scene to the story! Hint: Edward and Bella bond with Carlisle, Toby, Ariel, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Sonja, Teddy, and Esme. And you find out a tragedy! It'll be cool. I told you so you're so curious about the new chapter, you'll burst!**

**~~~Amy-Katherine914~~~**


	7. Chapt 7: Port Angeles and Who?

**Hey, I'm back! I'm sorry I haven't updated this story in a while but I've been busy and I'm busy this week also- I'll be writing again next week, hopefully. If you ever want to e-mail me or something, check my profile- I have an e-mail I set up for this kind of purpose. I do not own Twilight- SM does. From this chapter, the story goes in a little different direction; I have new scenes and such. It'll take longer though because there'll be more scenes and I'm actually thinking about if I should do the entire series… catch ya later! Enjoy!**

**Chapter: 7**

To me, the drive down to Port Angeles was slow but we got there fast enough. We had time to shop at many places necessary and go out to eat. So that's was we were going to do. In the car, we listened to whiny rock music and Jessica jabbered on about boys and who the cute ones were. Angela was quiet as usual and when I looked at her emotions and in her mind, she didn't mind Jess's constant talking or the annoying music; she's just glad she was invited. She really is a saint.

Port Angeles was a small, beautiful tourist area. Jess and Angela knew the area and they didn't want to dilly- dally looking at scenery so they drove right past and went to a very big building where we were going to look for everything they needed.

The dance was semiformal and we weren't exactly sure what that meant. Both Jess and Angela were shocked when they heard that I've never been to a dance back in Phoenix.

"Don't you, like, ever go with a boyfriend or something?" Jessica asked as we walked through the front doors of the store.

"No, not really," I answered nonchalantly. "Back at the school in Phoenix, they didn't have many dances and whenever they did, I was busy. Plus, I don't like dances all that much." Anymore, anyways. The dances back when I was little were the best; I grew up with those kinds of dances being around and they sort of stuck to me, I guess.

"Why not?" Jess demanded; she sure does love gossip.

I shrugged and looked at a couple dresses. "I don't know… I just don't really like dancing to that kind of music."

"What's music got to do with this?" Angela had been quiet this entire time so this was, once again, Jess.

"I don't like the music that people listen to now-a-days. I like old, classical music. Like Beethoven or Mozart." I looked over at Jess giving me a 'what-she-on?' kind of look. I laughed even though I knew she was serious. "I do. I like old music and I love piano. I don't know why. It just seems… relaxing." And I'm used to it…

"Whatever. I know music has nothing to do with it; otherwise, you wouldn't have told Tyler yes."

I stopped flipping through the dresses and looked at her and Angela. "I overheard him telling people what he thought I would say even though he didn't ask me and I told him I wasn't going with him. He wouldn't take no for an answer so I yelled at him a bit to get it through his thick skull…" Let me get it through yours… "I'm not going with Tyler- or anyone."

"That's not what he says," Angela murmured mostly to herself. Then she directed her words to me. "That's why Lauren doesn't like you- she thought you were taking Tyler away from her."

We finally found dresses they liked and now they just had to try them on. After about ten or twenty minutes, Angela found her dress; it was pale pink and draped around her nicely and showed honey tints in her light brown hair. Jess found hers after being torn between two; a basic black number without straps and an electric blue that went to her knees. I told her to get the blue- why not play the eyes up a bit?

We headed over to the shoes and accessories and I merely critiqued and watched; I didn't really need to shop for anything- I'm all set. After all, I don't grow anymore.

The whole shopping trip was shorter than expected to be so Angela and Jess paid for their things and put them in the car. They wanted to walk by the bay and I'd said I'd meet them at the restaurant we were going to eat at. They were both willing to come with me but I said I'd go get it ad be back in a flash. They reluctantly let me go and they took off for the bayside down the block.

I headed in the direction of many bookstores and found my way easily. I walked in and looked around for good books that I haven't had yet or had borrowed and wanted. I found nothing. I went to another store and another and still had not found any good books. I came back out of the last store I had gone into and saw that the cars were no longer around; rush hour was over. I walked down the little path from the steps of the store to the sidewalk and went in the direction I had come from; I have great navigation. It was semi-dark and I turned a corner and started walking in the direction of the bay walk when I saw a group of four guys standing near and in my path. I wanted to shift my appearance to look older with a wedding ring but I was too close and they'd see me do it. I knew they were going to hit on me and I didn't know what to say- 'Hi, I'm not your type; see, I'm shifter and you're human… we don't mix. But I will let you know that you lost the competition by a ton because I'm in love with a vampire?' I don't think so…

I passed them and one of them called out to me.

"Hey, there!" I didn't acknowledge them one bit. I learned a long time ago to not respond to certain people when they call out to you. This was one of those times. "Oh, come on! Don't be like that, baby!" He hollered when I didn't respond. His friends were guffawing really, really loudly.

I almost stopped dead in my tracks when I heard what they were thinking. I walked a little faster and made it look unnoticeable. I turned another corner when I realized that two of those guys had followed me; jerks. I knew what they were going to do if they caught me; I just wasn't going to give them that advantage.

I turned another corner and there was a small alleyway. Shit! The two other boys from the group were on the other side. I couldn't get past them without using my speed and strength; that'd give away what I was. I kept walking toward them, hoping to push past them and get out but as I walked closer, they backed up so they could bring me to the street; I was soon surrounded and no one was in this part of town now. The street was completely empty… and I had been herded.

"There ya are!" yelled one of the boys from the front- the leader.

The other guys laughed and one answered, "Sorry, we decided to take a little detour."

I stood there with the four disgusting men circling me and looking me over like I was a prize to be won. They finally stopped staring at my chest and stopped circling. The leader of the four smiled at me. He took one step closer.

I stayed where I was, stiff and alert. I showed no fear. "Don't even think about it." I almost snarled at them.

The leader looked and felt shocked. I could hear car horns beeping and tires squealing a good two blocks away. I prayed it was coming for me.

"C'mon. We just want to have a little fun with ya," The leader put the smile back on and stepped forward once more, they all laughed; he was too close.

I brought my knee up and hit him in his parts and he groaned and backed away. The others tried to grab me but I kicked one in the gut and punched another in the nose. There was one left that wasn't hurt and the other three were furious now. They were back up on their feet and they tried to surround me again; I don't _think _so…

They were around me and I jumped as a car came fishtailing around the corner. I didn't leap far from them and I landed on my hand. I pushed up with my palm and did a flip back as the car stopped and idled. You'll never guess who came out: Edward Cullen. He came out and looked at all the guys angrily. I stood up and walked over to the car by the passenger side.

"Get in, Bella," Edward commanded me.

I opened the door and hesitated before getting in. I heard their thoughts once more. They wanted to do… stuff…to me and then they were going to kill me afterward. They wanted to kill Edward right now. Ha! Like they could! Although, one of them has a gun and he can easily hit me. "You too," My voice was soft, gentle, but firm and commanding.

Edward looked at me and then back at the thugs. He was furious as was I. He backed up and got into the car. I did too. Once we closed the doors, Edward revved the engine and went forward to freak the guys out. They did freak out and they ran.

I wanted so badly to go hurt those guys because they didn't just target me; they had targeted others as well and had gone through with it. I cracked my knuckles a couple times. We were going very fast as usual and we soon were out of town; the street lights were far behind us now.

"Put your seatbelt on," Edward demanded. I realized after that, that I was indeed not wearing my seatbelt.

I chuckled. "I don't need a seatbelt,"

The car stopped and we were somewhere with a lot of trees and no lights. Edward rested his head back on the headrest. He had closed his eyes and I was studying his features in the dim light provided by the car lights from the dashboard.

"You okay?" I asked my voice level and calm.

"No," He said curtly. After that, there was silence. I was listening to those guys' thoughts and they were really bummed that they didn't get what they wanted… me. I almost smirked and laughed out loud. Almost. "Bella?" His voice was tight, controlled.

"Hmm?" He pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Distract me, please." he ordered.

I knew he wanted something to take his mind off of those guys so I gave in to him. "I'm going to yell at Tyler tomorrow at school and then I'm going to run over him. And then I'll yell at him again."

His eyes were still shut tightly but the side of his mouth twitched like he found my answer funny. "Why?"

"He was still telling everyone that I was going to prom with him after I deliberately told him I wasn't. Either he's an idiot or he's trying to make up for the car accident. Mostly it's the first." I wanted to babble, to make him happy. Plus, I swear, he was one second away from laughing if I told him another threat.

"I heard he asked you." he responded.

"Huh, yeah. Without actually asking me. He just told people with me out in the blue. If I hit him with my car, he won't be able to dance… maybe I can get him knocked out of all the dances if I hit him hard enough…" I mused thoughtfully. I waited for the chuckle.

There it was… he just did that soft, musical chuckle and I looked away for a second.

"Better?" I asked, hopeful.

"Not really,"

He didn't say any more after that so it was silent. He stared out the front window, his jaw tight and rigid.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Sometimes I have a problem with my temper, Bella." He whispered. Slightly bipolar- vampire thing. They can go from happy to upset in less than a heartbeat. His eyes narrowed to slits. "But it _wouldn't _be helpful for me to turn around and hunt down those…" He didn't finish his sentence but I got the gist of what he was saying. "At least," he continued. "That's what I'm trying to convince myself."

I nodded. I also wanted to murder those gangsters; those guys were horrible. We sat in silence once more and I looked at the clock. It was past six-thirty.

"Angela and Jessica must be concerned." I murmured. "I was supposed to meet them."

He started the engine without another word, turned smoothly, and sped back all the way to toward town. In no time, we were under the streetlights. He parallel- parked against the curb in a small space, effortlessly. I looked out the window to see the lights of La Bella Italia, and Jess and Angela were just leaving, pacing anxiously away from us.

"How'd you know where…?" I stopped asking the question but stopped. I remember Carlisle telling me 90 years ago that his adopted son Edward was a mind-reader.

I shook my head, smiling a bit. Then I heard the door open and swiveled my head in that direction. Edward was getting out of the car.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm taking you to dinner." He smiled slightly but his eyes were hard and guarded. He stepped out of the car and closed the door. I was out a second later. He was waiting on the sidewalk for me.

I had heard what he was going to say but he said it before I could do it. "Go stop Jessica and Angela before I have to track them down, too. I don't think I could restrain myself if I met up with your old friends."

I smirked at the threat because I may look young and innocent but I have seen and possibly caused a lot of deaths in my years. I bit my bottom lip and whistled a high whistle. Jess and Angela looked back at the sort of the whistle and saw me waving. The rushed right over and almost fell on each other when they saw who I was with. I snorted a bit.

"Where have you been?" Jess sounded suspicious.

"I ran into Edward here and he offered to drive me back after we finished our little conversation." I waved my hand toward Edward when I said his name.

"Would it be alright if I joined you?" He asked in his silken, irresistible voice. I could tell by their expressions that he never used his persuasion on them before.

"Er… sure." Jess breathed, dazed.

"Um, actually, Bella, we already ate. Sorry, but you took a while and…," Angela confessed.

I almost laughed because Jess wanted to tell Angela to shut up so she could talk to Edward. "That's alright- I'm not hungry anyway." I shrugged. Truth was, was that I was starving but not the human side of me; the predator side. I had filled up the night before but having to fight those goons before had taken all the strength out of me. I guess after I get home, I could hunt again.

"I think you should eat something." Edward's voice was low but full of authority. He turned to Jess and spoke slightly louder. "Do you mind if I drive Bella home tonight? That way you won't have to wait while she eats."

"Um, no problem, I guess…," She bit her lip wondering what I wanted. To make it clearer, I winked at her. I wanted nothing more than to talk to Edward. Plus if I leave, he'll go after those jerks from before and who knows what he'll do.

"Okay." Angela was quicker than Jessica. "We'll see you tomorrow at school, Bella… Edward." She grabbed Jessica's hand and pulled her away. I watched them leave and scanned the area for any potential threats with my mind; no one, good. They left and I faced Edward.

"Honestly, I'm not hungry," I insisted trying to read his expression. I couldn't.

"Humor me."

He walked up to the door of the restaurant and held it open with an obstinate expression. Apparently, I had lost this discussion. I sighed in defeat and went in with Edward right behind me.

The restaurant wasn't crowded- it was the off-season in Port Angeles. The host was female and as I listened in on her thoughts, I became a little disgusted at what I found.

_Oh my. _Her internal voice sounded interested… if you know what I mean. _My, oh my, oh my…_

"A table for two?" Edward asked for politely.

"Oh, er, yes. Welcome to La Bella Italia." _Mmm! What a voice! _"Please, follow me." We started walking toward our table. _She has to be his cousin. She couldn't be his sister; they look nothing alike. But family, definitely. _He _can't be with _her. Her mind was making me angry and nauseous. Her feelings- different than her thoughts- were showing she was envying me; she liked how I looked- so plain but also not. She was also jealous because I was with Edward and no one else was here with us.

_Well, no need to help her out, just in case. _She led us to a table in the middle of the most crowded area of the restaurant and the table had five chairs. I almost growled at her for acting so improper and for _thinking _so improper. _Can I give him my number while she's there…? _She mused. I snorted so low, I couldn't even hear myself so there was no fear of having a vampire hear me.

_No, something more private… _I sent to her.

Her eyes glazed over for a second and said, "Sorry, not here." and led us to a booth in the back of the restaurant where no one else was around. Edward looked a little stunned and surprised. I bet he would have fainted- if he was able- if I hadn't blocked her mind while I sent that thought. The hostess put the menus on the table and left. Edward and I sat down and I chuckled.

I knew that Edward was going to pay her money at that moment so he could have some privacy with me. With me, you pay less and get more.

"What?" Edward asked. He had heard me chuckle.

I waved it off. "It's nothing. But I'd be careful, if I were you," I pointed to the kitchen where the hostess had gone. "You should dazzle others like that; let them think on their own once and a while. Doesn't seem really fair." Who am I to talk? I control minds and read them.

He seemed confused.

"C'mon. You really don't know the effect you have on people."

He tilted his head to one side and his eyes were curious. "I dazzle people?"

"Do you think everyone gets their way so easily?" Well, I do… and some of my family but they had to work at it.

He ignored my question and gave me another. "Do I dazzle _you_?"

My right eyebrow lifted and I smirked. "Maybe but… as if I'm going to say," My smirk turned into a smile. "Even if you did, you wouldn't know- I hide things splendidly well," Like the fact that I'm a killer.

Before he could respond to that- which he was…I think- our waitress arrived, face expectant. The hostess told her a description of Edward in the back and now this _woman _has very nasty, vulgar thoughts about her and him. She flipped a strand of short black hair behind her ear and smiled with way too much warmth and she thought her smile was sexy. As if!

"Hello, I'm Amber and I'll be your server tonight. What can I get you to drink?" She was facing Edward, talking to Edward, and acting as though I didn't exist. I hid my annoyance.

He looked at me.

"I'll have a Coke." _And pour Snapple in there two, not much. _I was running low on restraint.

The waitress left and Edward continued to stare at me.

"What?" I asked him.

His eyes stayed fixed on my face. I read his mind; he wasn't going to drink my blood, good. "How are you feeling?"

I blinked. "I'm fine." I was surprise and comprehension dawned on me; Edward hasn't seen my fight before. He doesn't know that I no longer go into shock.

"You don't feel dizzy, sick, cold…?"

"Dizzy?" I waved my hand in front of my face. "Sick, cold?" I felt my forehead with the back of my hand. I shrugged, smiling. "No, I'm fine."

His lips quirked and turned into his perfect crooked smile. "I'm sorry. I'm just waiting for you to go into shock."

"That won't happen. I'm good at repressing unpleasant experiences."

"Just the same, I'll feel a wholly lot better once you have sugar and food in you."

"I'm telling you- I'm not hungry. Far from it, actually." I stated, smiling. I just wanted my drink and to leave, I had a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. And no, it wasn't butterflies.

The waitress came and gave us a basket of breadsticks and our drinks. She stood with her back facing me while placing them on the table and saying, "Are you ready to order?"

_Face me…_ I sent to her. She faced me when Edward didn't answer. I knew he was going to make me order so I did. I could hack it up later or something. Human food is okay for shifters but we don't like the taste or the aftertaste that stays for days; we prefer blood. "Mushroom ravioli, per favore." I smiled a bit. Since this place is Italian, why not speak it?

She wrote it down and faced Edward once more with that goofy smile back on her face. "And you?"

"Nothing for me," he answered. Of course not.

"Let me know if you change your mind," She left.

"Drink," he ordered.

I took a sip and another long one after I noticed that she had put Snapple in it. I finished it and Edward nudged his over to me. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and drank from the second cup.

"Thanks," I said after I finished the second one. It tastes so weird!!! I need the Snapple in there.

"So you speak Italian?" he wanted to make small talk and get to know me; how cute!

"Si," I smiled. "Che cosa circa voi? Che cosa parlate?" (**What about you? what do you speak?**)

He smirked. "Almost everything." he leaned on the table.

"What can't you speak?" I leaned forward as well.

"Greek." He looked at me with an expression of 'duh!'

I smirked really big. "OH, το φτωχό, φτωχό αγόρι. Δεν ξέρει πώς να μιλήσει τα ελληνικά αντίθετα από με." (**Oh, the poor, poor boy. He does not know how to speak Greek. Unlike me.**) I smiled in triumph. "I can speak every language out there."

He frowned. "Where'd you learn?"

My smile faded a bit. "My mom,"

"I'm sorry. Here," He shoved the breadstick basket my way.

"Really, I'm not going into shock," I protested thankful the subject of my mother wasn't going to be discussed.

"You should be… A _normal _person would be. You don't even look shaken."

"That's because I'm no." I hoped he'd catch the 'no' was meant for both of his statements and I also didn't want him to know I was a freak. "And I feel safe with you," As long as you don't try to hurt me.

"This is more complicated than I'd planned," he murmured to himself.

I sat back and tilted my head to the side. "Usually you're in a better mood when your eyes are so light." That's because he's not thirsty…

He stared at me, surprised and shocked. "What?"

"When your eyes are golden or of that sense of color, you're less moody. When your eyes are black or ocher, you get upset and angry easily." I stated out of fact not theory.

"Another theory?" his eyes were narrowed and he was nervous.

"Not really a theory- more like…a fact." Tonight, there were going to be no secrets.

He was about to question what I had just said but then the waitress came over. I realized we had been subconsciously leaning toward each other across the table because we both straightened up when she came by the table. She set the dish in front of me and turned quickly to Edward.

"Isn't there anything I could get you?" I heard and felt her double meaning. I slightly shuddered and, thankfully, no one noticed. I did not want to spend time in that girl's mind; I couldn't block her, though.

"No, thank you, but we would like some more soda." He answered, gesturing with a long white hand to the empty cups.

_More Snapple in them, please. Don't forget._

She left with that thought reeling in her head like a broken record; I needed my Snapple. As soon as she got the drinks ready, she should pour Snapple in them. I had also made sure she grabbed the cups before she left because when you plant something in someone's mind, it repeats and doesn't let you do anything else until you get that done.

"Would you care to explain what you meant from before?" Edward asked after the waitress was out of sight.

"Later, if…" I paused.

"There are conditions?" He raised an eyebrow, his voice ominous. I peeked in his mind; He was wary, curious, and anxious.

"I do have questions, of course. I'd like them answered."

"Of course."

The waitress came back with two more Cokes and I sniffed the air like I was breathing and I smelled Snapple in the drink; good. I took a sip. Amber, the waitress, had left right after she put the Cokes on the table.

"Well, go ahead." He pushed, his voice still hard.

"Why were you in Port Angeles?" I asked with what I hoped was the easiest question I would ask during the night.

He looked down, folded his hands on the table, and looked up at me through his lashes, the hint of a smirk on his face. "Next,"

I just stared at him.

_There is no way I'm going to let her know that I followed her here. She needs to be safe and the less she knows…the safer she'll be. _I heard his inner voice say.

"Oooh…," I understood. I smiled a little smile.

He looked confused. "What?"

Next question… "How did you find me?" I unrolled my silverware and stabbed a ravioli with my fork. "I'll eat, you explain." I knew he wanted me to do that.

He just looked at me and warred with himself on the inside whether to tell me or not. I'm pretty sure I already know how and why but I really wanted him to tell me.

I looked away for a second and then looked into his eyes. "You can trust me, you know." I murmured with sincerity. I reached forward to touch his folded hands but he pulled them back, minutely. I pulled my hand back as well.

"I don't think I have a choice anymore." His voice was almost a whisper. "I was wrong- you're much more observant than I thought."

I sat back and smiled. "Well, I better be. If I wasn't then I'd be the only…one in my family…," I almost said shifter in front of him! Agh! "…with Alzheimer's. And that'd be a real shocker if that were to happen. And I always thought you were right." I stated the last part jokingly but I don't think he saw.

"I used to be." He shook his head. "I was wrong about you. You're not a magnet for accidents- you're a magnet for _trouble._ If there is anything dangerous within a ten-mile radius, it will invariably find you."

"That's what I plan on." I smiled, proud.

"What do you mean by that? And by half the things you say? You make less sense than _I _do." He was confused and agitated.

I chuckled. "When I said 'ooh,' I knew why you were in Port Angeles. And I have to attract danger to keep my family safe; to draw it away from them. That's what I'm supposed to do. Take my mother's place." My mother used to be the protector of Giant Clan and then it was by destiny that her child take it over when she turned 200 and if she changed into something different. My mother did the stupid thing and turned human for my father; he had died of disease later that day. Many predators are after gods, goddesses, and shifters; basically everyone in Giant Clan. One person protects them all and they have the most powerful shifter to do the job- me.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Only if you tell me how you found me…,"

"I followed your scent and then I heard what those guys were thinking. You have no idea what they were planning to do; their thoughts are so violent and vulgar…," He covered his eyes with his hand and stayed still.

"I do, actually…," he put his hand down and looked at me. "You can read minds… I can read and control minds and know what people are feeling if the feelings aren't mingled with other ones or if they're strong enough. The reason you probably can't read mine is because I have mind blocks up and I've had them up since I was born. I also know what you and your family are. I've met Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper before. I possibly older than-," My phone rang, cutting off what I was saying.

I answered it; it was Ariel.

_Bella! Bella, oh my Gosh! Are you okay?!_

"Yeah, I'm fine. Ariel, what's wrong?" Her tone was horrified and I was wary.

_Someone's there for you. And not in a good way. You have to leave now. It'll be a tragedy, Bella!_

I hung up and put my phone away. "Edward, I'm sorry but we have to go." I sounded frightened and alarmed. When Ariel is alarmed for me, it's bad.

"Of course." The waitress came by and he handed her the money. We left the restaurant. We were right by the car when I froze, listening to a familiar voice.

"Why, hello, Isabella. I haven't seen you since you were a petite child." He said.

Edward stayed silent, trying to hear his thoughts.

"What do you want?" I demanded, my voice hard. Then I gasped. "Lyle! You're… you're a hacker?!"

**There you have it. chapter 7. I won't be typing for a while so yeah… wait till next week, sorry.**


	8. Chapt 8: Fight, Artemis, Fainted

**Here's Chapter 8: If you'd like to know part of Bella's past, read my new story **_**Bella's Memories.**_** It's about Bella and her family. I have important memories of her and her brother and how all of her life went. Possibly only 10 or 11 chapters- not too sure. Anyway, I do not own Twilight, SM does.**

**Chapter 8:**

He chuckled. "Why, yes, I am. Very observant, Isabella."

"I thought Hackers were extinct." Edward chimed in.

"No. They went into hiding for ten years. And then they've been attacking Giant Clan. Lyle, I thought you died all those years ago. How long have you been a Hacker?" I was standing somewhat sideways; my body facing the car and my head facing Lyle. Edward was behind me and he stood frozen.

Hackers are just as deadly as vampires and they are able to kill vampires; Hackers are at the top of the food-chain.

"Oh, my whole life, little Bella." Lyle smirked. "I've known what you are since you were a baby."

"My family trusted you!" I snarled.

"Yes, which is why your mother took my advice in turning human on her 200th birthday. After that, I bribed the doctor into saying Arthur was dying that day and then I merely…killed him. He tasted off for a human."

"Who's Arthur, Bella?" Edward asked warily.

"My father." My voice shook and Edward growled low in his throat at Lyle. I put my hand up to stop him. "Lyle is mine to deal with." I faced Lyle full on. "Why?"

He shrugged and paced. My eyes never left him. "I was bored that year and decided to have a little fun. When your mother died, I got the biggest prize in history at the time; her death and her blood." He licked his lips.

"What do you mean _at the time?_" I asked angrily and nervously.

"You're the first half- shifter half-human out there, Isabella. Therefore, you are the strongest and oldest. You're famous. If you were murdered…" He trailed off for a second, deep in thought. "Your killer would be in the know. People would know who killed you." He smiled a big smile.

"You're famous already! You killed Giant Clan's famous ex-protector! Why kill me?!"

"Because my earlier kills are unknown now- and people don't care that I killed her. You're more powerful than her. Even more than your brother…,"

"Lyle," I warned.

He raised his hands. "Alright, we won't talk about him. Although, you really should've trusted his judgment." By one look by me, he changed the subject. "I believe that _now _I am able to kill you. I am prepared and ready. Most of the attacks you have stopped, I have been observing."

"I thought I smelt something bad at the time…," I murmured to get him annoyed.

His eyes blazed and cooled in a second. He shook his head disapprovingly. "Oh, Bella, Bella, Bella. You do know that your reputation is going to be damaged when others find out you are friends with your enemy." He pointed to Edward. "A vampire- and a good one, at that. We all know they have no restraint." I hissed at him but he continued. He pulled out a dagger. "Do you know what this is? Isabella?"

I looked closely at it. It was engraved with the initials _'A-G/S'_ and I knew what that meant. _Artemis- Goddess/Shifter. _Arty (Or Artemis) had a dagger that looked exactly like that- and it was poisonous to its enemy. I looked at him outraged; it _was_ her dagger.

"How did you get that?" It was Artemis's! I snarled the previous sentence at him.

He laughed and Edward shuddered. Other than that, Edward was frozen where he stood. "Why, I took it from her of course."

"How could you? She keeps it heavily guarded."

"Why do you think she hasn't returned your calls? The answer is… I killed her. And anyone who got in my way; mainly Stan. It was easy." He sneered.

"Lyle,"

"No, really. All I did was-"

I lunged at him and I fell on him, pinning him down as I was in my alias form; black jaguar. I saw in my peripheral vision, Edward's jaw dropped. I roared in Lyle's face. He smirked but his eyes were scared. I was so angry and filled with a fury of hate, that I clawed his face with my sharp claws. I roared again and then my gut felt warm and heavy. I involuntarily turned back to my human form and I leapt off of Lyle. I fell on my knees about ten feet away from him and I was clutching my gut.

"Edward, hold your breath!" I yelled at him. He did and luckily, he didn't get a whiff of my blood. I tried to stand and I just fell back down to the ground, supporting myself on my hands and knees.

Lyle was on his feet and guffawing crazily. "You are _so _weak!" I looked up at him- like he said- weakly, through my hair. He had an evil grin on my face. "That is Artemis's dagger as you know. And I hope she has told you once before that the keeper of the dagger gets to choose what kind of poison is injected into the victim. I know your family loved me like a member…I'm going to use _Love Poison._"

I gasped and stopped breathing. _Love Poison_ is a poison that makes you fall in love with your attacker and then you tell them you love them. The second after you proclaim you love them, you die. And while you're dying, you see them die along with you and it makes you believe that it's all your fault. So, you die thinking they are your true love- it's the worst way to die. I could feel the poison spreading through my body slowly. I was able to become slightly immune to _Love Poison _so I faked it.

I showed no pain and I stood on my feet. I walked toward Lyle slowly. "Lyle," I called softly and lovingly. I was an inch away from him and I put my hand on his chest gently. He smiled triumphantly- he thought that he had won.

Wrong.

I stiffened my hand and spread my fingers wide- he flew backward and fell on his back. I pounced on him and pulled out my own dagger. I was being very careful because when Hackers die, they basically explode in a small eruption. I stabbed him in the heart and tried to keep my strength. He screamed and fire was welling up in his mouth. I couldn't get up in time so he exploded and I was flung into the air. I landed four feet away from Edward. My dagger went back into place at my ankle on its own accord. Lyle was gone- another Hacker dead; death by Isabella Marie Clara Jerkensin. (**That's Bella's real last name from when she was little. I just made it up on the spot...**)

I was having trouble breathing and I was convulsing in pain. I was about to cry but I held it together- Artemis's dagger poison is the worst out there. Only immortals can survive it like this- not even. Humans would die instantly from it. Which is why you don't want to accidentally prick your finger on the point. Toby learned the hard way- Luckily, at the time, Artemis was there to drain the poison out of his system. So no one could take out the dagger in its poisoning process, it seeps into the place where you were hit; it dissolved into my gut and left a dagger-like burn mark behind.

"Edward," I gasped out. He just stood there in shock. I gasped again in pain and screamed a tear filled shriek; "Edward!"

He unfroze and was at my side in an instant. He smoothed my hair out of my face to see my expression since my hair was covering my face completely- it's so thick!

"I need you to take me to Carlisle at the hospital. He should be in his office." I instructed weakly to him with occasional grunts or gasps of pain in my voice.

He nodded and picked me up bridal-style. He walked over to his car.

"No, no," I swatted at his chest feebly. "Run… as fast as you can."

"People will know I ran through, Bella." He pointed out.

"Not as long as I'm with you. I can disguise you as a breeze. Now, hurry!" Tears started falling down my cheeks and I was still writhing in his hold but he had a good grip on me. He ran and I could tell that, to the world, he wasn't even noticeable. But I was faster than him- now's not the time to brag…

He burst through the hospital doors and to Carlisle's office. Carlisle looked up from him papers on his desk and saw me in Edward's arms. He stood up immediately.

"Is, what happened?" He asked worriedly.

"Hacker," I managed to gasp out. Edward walked over to Carlisle's desk and Carlisle shoved everything off. They laid me on it.

"Edward, guard the door." Carlisle commanded. Edward nodded and walked the short distance to the door of his office.

Just then, Ariel, Teddy, Sonja, and Toby ran in. Ariel, Teddy, and Sonja stopped at the door and watched nervously. They knew what had happened because Ariel had seen it so clearly with her gift. Toby ran at me but Edward grabbed him by the waist and held him back.

"Toby, stay away!" Carlisle bossed out. Toby was struggling against Edward's hold but couldn't get through to me. I was helpless on the desk.

"Isabella," Teddy murmured. He put his hand out and helped me get more oxygen to my lungs; the poison was closing my esophagus. I gladly took in the air.

The phone rang; Carlisle ignored it. "You want to answer it, sir," Ariel said looking into the distance.

Carlisle looked at me and I nodded. He picked up the phone from his chair; it was his cell phone. "Hello?"

_"Carlisle!"_ I heard. It sounded like Esme. _"What's wrong? Alice said she saw something. We're on our way right now. She said you'll need our help."_

"Isabella," He stated.

I heard the engine on the other side of the phone speed up and Esme hung up. Carlisle turned to me and looked at him weakly. "Can you make them unnoticed by the bystanders?" he asked.

I nodded and stiffened my hand. Esme, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett burst through Carlisle's office door, almost breaking it off the hinges. I relaxed my hand and grabbed Carlisle's; I showed him what to do.

He nodded and turned to his family as he rolled up my pant leg. "Alice, Jasper; go get blood bags of every type of blood and a red Snapple." His voice was leaderly and they had no choice but to comply. They nodded and Jasper sent me a sad smile. I tried to smile back but I started having a coughing fit. Carlisle worked faster. He grabbed my dagger from its place on my leg and commanded Rosalie and Emmett: "Rose, Em; go get IV drips, a hospital bed, a bucket and a big spoon. And a heart monitor. Fast!" They didn't even nod, they just ran out.

I started fading but I felt Esme hold my head up since it was almost off the table.

"Isabella!" Carlisle yelled at me. "Don't you _dare_ leave us! Charlie needs his best friend! Esme and I need our daughter! Giant Clan needs its protector!" My eyelids started drooping. "_TOBY NEEDS HIS MOTHER!_" That got me to try and stay alive.

I saw Edward freeze and I turned my head to look at Toby; he was crying. I gave a small smile to reassure him. I looked back at Carlisle with the help of Esme. "Take my dagger and line the hilts up. Have my dagger placed facing the other way and then lock it in place." I told him.

He nodded and pushed my shirt up away from my stomach. "Dear Lord…," He murmured. He still got to work though. He placed the dagger sideways and then shoved it in. I gasped. "Isabella, it'll be alright." I nodded looking at the ceiling. Esme was smoothing my hair away from my sweaty forehead.

I smiled. "This is almost as bad as childbirth." I joked giving a feeble chuckle. I heard Toby whimper; he thought he caused me much pain when he was born. "It was a joke, Toby!" I gasped out.

Teddy shook his head and continued giving my lungs air. Sonja was controlling the energy of the room and Ariel was seeing if I was going to make it. Alice and Jasper came in and Rosalie and Emmett soon followed. They all looked at me and I saw as they each held their breath. I started writhing slightly again.

"Carlisle," my voice was strained as I tried not to scream.

He twisted the dagger and the hilt of the burn and the hilt of my dagger were lined up. He let go and turned toward his family. "Rosalie, Emmett; empty the blood bags into the bucket and pour the Snapple in there as well. Mix it together and pour it back into the bags. Alice, Jasper; set up the hospital bed and necessities." They all got to work.

"Carlisle," he turned back to me. "I won't make it. There's a 10% chance that I'll live-"

"Bella, stop. Now; you are not going to die. I won't let you. _We,_" he pointed to everyone in the room. "Won't let you."

I gasped for more air and Teddy complied. "It was Artemis's dagger; poison specialty. You will not touch it with your hands!"

Esme nodded at Carlisle. "Carlisle you have to, now."

"Toby, copy your mother's power to make this room _completely _soundproof." Carlisle demanded.

"Okay," he said in his scared little voice. "I did…but it won't last long."

"Look away," Carlisle said quickly before jamming the dagger into me. It went right through and I screeched at the top of my lungs. I curved my back upward on instinct to help the scream. Artemis's dagger broke free of me and my dagger was absorbed. "What should I do with your dagger?"

"Don't do anything. Leave it but don't let my back touch Artemis's dagger- it's still lethal." I gasped out before collapsing back down. Esme had her arms underneath me, making sure I didn't touch the dagger.

"What do we do with it?" Emmett asked as he filled the blood bags with blood and Snapple.

"Toby," I waved him over. He ran over. "Grab my hand, baby."

He did and we focused on the dagger. It exploded. I looked at his face and smiled proudly.

"That's my baby boy," I whispered before everything went black. I couldn't hear, feel, see, or do anything. I assumed I died but turns out I was just unconscious from blood loss and lack of energy.

**Edward POV:**

Bella fainted right there on the desk; with her son holding her hand. He had assumed the worst and fell to his knees crying. Esme lowered Bella down gently and comforted Toby.

"There, there, child. She's just fainted." she told him. He was still crying but now it was just the sniffles.

"Alice, Jasper; are you ready?" Carlisle asked with Bella in his arms. Who would have thunk? Bella- an immortal being whom I've studied up on. She is the most famous shifter in the world because she was the first half-shifter and her powers are stronger than a normal shifter's.

Alice nodded and Carlisle carried Bella over quickly and placed her down. I had stopped breathing long before; her scent was one thing, her blood was another. There was no way I would've been able to control myself around all that. Carlisle put the needle into Bella's arm and hooked her up to the heart machine. The blood and Snapple- don't know why they needed that but, whatever- flowed through the tube into Bella. Carlisle told everyone to turn around as he stitched her stomach up. He was mostly talking to Toby, though.

Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie moved away from Carlisle and went to the other side of the office near his desk. They sat on the floor and Esme took his office chair. Toby, and the others- I have yet to figure out their names- went over to the corner near the door and one girl and the guy who supplied Bella with oxygen sat together; the girl in his lap. The other girl and Toby sat across from each other. Carlisle backed away from Bella and moved toward his desk.

"What now, Carlisle?" Esme asked with her motherly worry.

"Now… we wait." He responded, looking at Bella with love from a father to a daughter.

**There's chapter 8! I needed to do Edward's POV so you knew what happened. I'll post ASAP when I have the chance over winter break- I'm going to be really busy, as I've pointed out but I'll try. Hope you liked it! The next chapter should explain everything about Bella or at least some bits of her life. Love ya, miss ya, write for ya! LOL!**


	9. Chapt 9: Recovering, Memories

_**Da-da-da-da! Here it is before I stop for the month; chapter 9! I need to do Edward's POV for a while so you know what happens while she's asleep. By the way, I took a while by accident because my parents got me a laptop for Christmas and I needed to transfer all my stuff over so I'm sorry for taking a long time- thank you for your patience.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight- SM does.**_

_**Chapter 9:**_

_**Edward POV:**_

_We've been sitting around for hours. No one spoke, no one moved; it was like we were all statues…okay, I know vampires can act like statues, what with the not-moving thing, but it was uncomfortable right now. Bella was still unconscious and it made us all worry; I felt bad for Jasper._

"_Alice, how much longer do we have to wait?" Jasper asked anxiously._

_Alice got a glazed expression and then she frowned. "I don't know. I can't see."_

"_Another half hour, maybe a little more," answered one of Bella's comrades._

_We all looked at her questioningly. She sighed._

"_I can see the future; not always clearly but with shifters…very clearly. The reason you can't see her is because you were never one of us, therefore, you can't see us. Just like werewolves, gods, goddesses, etc. You're able to see Bella at other times because you search for her human self. Right now, her body is using its shifter strength to repair its damage." Everyone flinched at her wording. "I tried to make it sound less severe but you still flinch." She blew her bangs out of her eyes. "Don't worry. Bella is healing up now; she won't die. Carlisle saved her just in time." She smiled sweetly at him._

_Esme's eyes narrowed by the slightest. __She better not be thinking what I think she's thinking. _Esme's thoughts were covered in possessiveness toward Carlisle. I snorted.

The girl who spoke laughed and shook her head. "I am merely showing my appreciation toward him. I would never."

Esme looked friendly again and nestled into Carlisle as she sat on his lap.

"Pardon us for being so rude," said Toby. We all looked at him in surprise since we didn't know he could speak so formal. He smirked. "Yes, well, I can be formal when I like. My name is Toby- I'm Isabella's son, if you didn't already know that. This is Theodore or Teddy if you will." He pointed to the man sitting next to him with another girl in his lap. "That is Sonja." He pointed at the girl in Teddy's lap. "And that is Ariel." He pointed to the girl who spoke earlier.

"Uh, I'm Emmett-" Emmett pointed to himself.

"Oh, we know who all of you are," Sonja interjected. We all looked at her surprised. "Carlisle spoke your names before."

"Oh," Emmett didn't speak once more. He didn't even know Bella and neither did Rosalie yet they both are worried for her. I felt a strange calm settle over me and through everyone's minds, they felt it too. "Damn it, Jasper! I know you want everyone to calm down but now's not the time!"

Jasper looked confused and opened his mouth to speak but Sonja beat him to it. "Sorry…," she mumbled. She did a tight smile toward Jasper. "I guess we have the same power."

Emmett faced Jasper. "Sorry, thought it was you."

Jasper laughed and I gasped a little. Everyone stared at me in confusion.

"I can hear her." I whispered, looking at Bella. "I can hear her thoughts."

Carlisle cleared his throat and motioned for Esme to stand up. She did so and he walked over to check Bella's vitals. "Please explain why my son can read Bella's mind now and not before." He said to Sonja, Teddy, Toby, and Ariel.

"Her body is shutting down, but not in a bad way." Ariel explained. "When shifters are injured to a point where death is close by, their bodies shut down certain parts to preserve energy that is needed to survive. For Bella, her block was taken down in order to preserve her mind. Her block protected her mind against others who could read it. She's had it all her life. Her mind took it down and shut down itself- that's why she's unconscious. She's limp because her mind is trying to use that energy to rebuild itself and destroy any leftover poison just in case." She sighed and looked from me to Emmett to Jasper to Rosalie to Alice to Esme and to, finally, Carlisle. "We mustn't wake her because if we do, her memory will be lost forever. She won't know any of you, or any of us." She pointed to my family and then her own.

"What do you mean about losing her memory?" I asked.

"You do know the mind uses energy to store information, right?" Toby asked me. I nodded. "Well, it's the same with memory. Your mind takes what you've just experienced and stores it for later so you can look back at it. My mother's mind shut down and in doing so, it threw out all of her memories. Me being born; her brother; her mother, father; all of you; Ariel, Teddy, Sonja; Giant Clan- everything is gone. Since her body is centuries old, it has developed the knowledge of pulling itself back together and it has the strength. Right now, her mind is taking back all of her memories of her life and storing them together. You can read her mind for now and so can I but after a while, it'll get hazier and hazier. Soon enough, we won't hear a thing."

I stared at him in bewilderment and then at Bella. Her heartbeat was going crazy and it was extremely fast. "Is something wrong with her? Her heartbeat is two paces slower than someone having a seizer."

Ariel shook her head.

"No, shifter hearts are always fast because their instinct is to run away form danger or confront it. Their hearts are fast so enough blood and oxygen go throughout them incase of emergencies. It will never slow down."

"Except if she chooses to become a full shifter then- _KCKKTT!"_ Teddy ran his finger along his throat like it was being sliced.

"What?" Esme put a hand on her still heart. "What does he mean? Please tell me he doesn't mean she'll die."

"In a way," Sonja stated slowly. "She will. It's like with vampires; when you change, your heart is still so technically you're dead. On Bella's 200th birthday, she can become human or any other type of immortal being. She can also just stay a half-shifter. When you change immortal status, your body changes; you become that kind of being. If she chose to be a full shifter for all her life- the kind you change into is different than a shifter born from two- her heart will stop, her scent will change, her interests will forever stay the same, and she'll be like that forever. She'll be as vulnerable as one of you," She waved her hand at all the vampires in the room. "She'll still be a shifter but she won't be happy. No shifter has ever been happy on their 200th birthday. Isabella's mother died that day. Her uncle committed suicide in a way. Everything goes wrong afterwards."

"Oh, Sonja, get your knickers out of a twist! You know Bella will be ecstatic when she's 200- I saw it." Ariel jutted in.

"What do you mean?" Rosalie asked.

Ariel looked panicked. "That information is classified." She stated uncertainly.

_Edward, probe her mind._ I heard Rosalie send me. I tried and I felt something hit me and it felt like a mental slap. I rubbed my head.

"Ariel says it's classified so it's classified. I'm sure you understand the meaning of respect and privacy. Try to follow it." Toby almost growled. I looked at my family and saw they were all trying not to laugh; even Bella's comrades were stifling chuckles.

Finally, no one could hold it in much longer, we all burst out laughing at Toby because with his little voice, the threat seemed weak and impossible. Toby growled like a bear and we all hushed up.

"Toby!" Sonja chided. "Just because your mother didn't hear you do that doesn't mean you can't get in trouble."

_Edward, is it just me, or does that growl sound a smidge familiar? _Emmett's face was scrunched up in concentration.

I shrugged and gasped as I was somehow pulled into Bella's mind.

I saw many flashbacks from long ago. I couldn't tell what time it was but it seemed like a time before I was born.

Flashback:

"_Mother, where does Joseph go every weekend?" Bella asked. She was about five years old._

_Her mother laughed and you could tell they were related; they held the same beauty in different ways. "Oh, darling, he goes hunting."_

"_Hunting?"_

"_Yes, sweetheart. Shifters hunt for food; you know- animals. We have to hunt away from people so we don't hurt them."_

"_Clarisse told me that hunting near humans is alright to do as long as they don't see you."_

_Bella and her mother were walking down a dirt road in the middle of a town. It was possible that they were in the 1800s. They stopped walking and Bella's mother turned to her._

"_Isabella, Clarisse isn't a shifter. She'll be gone within the week."_

"_What do you mean?" Bella and her mother had English accents. Her mother's was more heavy._

"_She's a Hacker."_

"_What in the world is a…Hacker?" Bella asked._

_Her mother sighed. "They are shifters who have turned the wrong way; to evil. Clarisse was once a good friend of mine but she slipped- no, she didn't slip. She did it on purpose…- Anyway, she drank a human's blood and she craved more. It's extremely complicated but try to understand, darling, please." Bella nodded and her mother continued. "When a shifter enjoys drinking a human's blood and wants more- not because of bloodlust but to enjoy it- they become a Hacker. That is why I never want you nor Joseph around humans when you are hungry. Lucky for you, you don't need to hunt. You inherited your father's appetite." She smiled and they continued walking._

_They were both wearing beautiful gowns that went to the ground. Suddenly. Bella's mother stopped walking and stopped smiling._

"_Mother? Mother, what is it?" Bella was shaking her mother's shoulder._

"_Oh no," She murmured. "Bella, hide behind me." Bella had a puzzled expression. "Bella, do not look behind you."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because…someone who our family loathes entirely to his core wants to have you marry his son when you are only ten."_

"_What?!" Bella growled. I almost growled myself._

_Her mother nodded. "It's true. We kept declining but he's a stubborn mule. He's coming this way. If he doesn't see you, he won't bother us."_

"_Oh, that's a load! No matter what, if we keep hiding in the shadows, he won't stop. He may be stubborn but so am I and I say no. If he wants to fight about it then have at it!"_

"_Isabella Marie!"_

"_I don't care if you chide me! We shouldn't have to deal with him!"_

"_Isabella, you don't understand…he's an ex-criminal. He could go back to his old ways if we're not careful."_

"_Mother, once he sees me, he'll turn himself into the sheriff for harassment of all kinds…and abuse." Bella grinned and moved her eyebrows up once. "Please, Mother just let me handle this."_

"_Oh, fiddlesticks! He's walking over!"_

_A forty-ish looking man came over with two more guys flanking him. He looked smug and drunk._

"_Now, Renee, have you finally decided to let my son marry Isabella?" He lost his balance for a second and caught it._

"_No!" Bella screamed. "It is not your decision and if my mother says no then no is the forever answer! And don't act as though I am not here!"_

"_Well, ain't she feisty? Jonathan loves feisty women." The man chuckled._

"_Donavan, that's you," Bella said coldly. "And unfortunately for you, they don't love you back. Now leave us…and never bother us again."_

"_Do you know who I am?" He pointed to himself and looked down at Bella with one eye half closed._

"_Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. You're Donavan Rimond; a drunk, lazy, stubborn mule who is also an ass And your son is just the same." I have never heard Bella speak like that before; it sent shivers up my spine._

_Donavan wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood straight. "Grab them," He told his friends._

_Bella's eyes widened slightly and then she grinned in a way I never thought she'd grin; it looked like a grin that Emmett wore when he was hunting or pranking someone. "With pleasure." She responded even though he wasn't talking with her. "Mother, wait here."_

_Bella stepped forward and punched Donavan in the nose; the bone shattered behind his skin and he cried out. His two friends stepped forward._

"_You may be able to punch, kid, but you can't fight in a dress." One of them said as he cracked his knuckles._

_Bella laughed dryly. She leapt forward and roundhouse kicked one of them in the gut and did a left uppercut to the other's chin. They both fell to the ground. "Mess with my family, and you deal with me. And I'll do more damage than that." Bella walked back over to her shocked mother and pulled her away by the hand._

Another flashback was worse. I didn't want to see this but- once again- I was pulled in.

_Bella was running down a street in clothes that people would've worn 90 years ago. She looked like she did now and she was terrified. She got to this forest and inside was this clearing. She tripped over a root and rolled away. She stopped and she was panting. She didn't get up but her head lifted up._

_I couldn't see what she was staring at but her eyes got wide with fear and she sat up pulling herself backward by her hands and pushing herself backward with her feet._

"_Stay away," Her voice was only but a whisper and it was raspy._

_Whatever she was facing laughed. "No, I get what I want and I want you. Now if you would only cooperate, it'd be less painful."_

_Finally, I was able to see who she was talking to but I couldn't see clearly. The man was blurry. It jumped at her and she rolled out of the way but he was able to hurt her arm; I couldn't see the damage but she was clutching it tightly and holding back tears. The man stood up over her and something jumped at him, knocking him over._

"_Isabelle! Leave, now!" A male's voice broke out. I could tell he probably didn't know Bella well because he got her name wrong._

_Bella hastily stood up and backed away into the trees, horrorstruck. The clearing was huge and she ran all the way to the other side, clutching her arm, her hand covered in its blood. She turned around one last time and shrieked. "Joseph!!!"_

_There was no more noise of the fight from before and Bella put her hand over her mouth to keep from crying openly. She ran away and past all those people she ran past before. She tripped and fell at the feet of a couple. Bella was sobbing and breathing ragged._

_The man bent down to her and put a hand on her shoulder gently. "Excuse me, Miss. Would like some help with that wound?"_

_Bella looked up with tired and dying eyes and nodded. The man picked her up easily and carried her away. They ended up in a hospital room and they were alone along with the man's wife. Bella's arm was wrapped up in gauze and it was stitched back together._

_The man cleared his throat. "Isabella, how would like to never get hurt anymore? To never have to fear death? I could take the pain away." His voice was low and gentle._

"_Thank you but I must decline. I already have to deal with immortality, Carlisle. I'm a shifter- well…half-shifter. Thank you for saving me, though." Bella smiled._

I snapped out of it and exited her mind. I glared at Carlisle.

"Whoa," Sonja and Jasper said in unison.

Carlisle faced me and looked at my glare confused. "Edward? What's the matter?"

"You offered her to become one of us?" My voice was cold.

Everyone was quiet and watching our conversation.

Carlisle's eyes shifted to mine and to everyone else's in one second. "Yes, Edward, I did. She had been dying and I didn't know who she was at the time. I wanted to save her, as did Esme."

"Hey now. Don't bring me into this." Esme held her hands up in defense. "But, Edward, we knew we would love her for all eternity if we did or if we didn't. We didn't want Bella to die…not like that."

"You didn't even know if she had anyone in her life." I miffed.

Carlisle sighed. "We talked to her first before I asked her. And… where did this come from anyway?"

"I saw the memory from her mind. Who was Joseph?"

"Her brother."

"Oh, yeah," I mumbled. I surprised myself because I forgot that detail Bella had told me once before. "Were they…distant from each other?"

"No, they were extremely close. Why?"

"Because I saw the memory of his death and he called Bella 'Isabelle.' Did he have short term memory loss or something?"

Carlisle chuckled. "No. No, he didn't. When Bella was little she didn't like to be called Isabella by him. She felt as though they were being to formal toward each other. So, Joseph called her Isabelle. When she wakes, it's best not to bring him up."

I nodded and looked back at Bella. I tried getting back into her head and it was easy. I was greeted by another memory. And I was in this one.

_Bella, Toby, Ariel, Teddy, and Sonja were standing in the woods in a clearing. They all shifted into their aliases. Bella was a black jaguar; Toby was a bear cub; Ariel was a grizzly; Sonja was a bobcat; Teddy was a coyote. They all ran in different directions; Teddy and Sonja one way; Toby and Ariel another; And Bella walked forward._

_Bella was running through enjoying the wilderness and she spotted some deer. She drank their blood and then they disappeared into the earth by Bella using her shifter powers. She grabbed a big buck and paralyzed it. She was going to carry it back to her family when she stumbled upon two hikers away from the trails; they were Emmett and I. We looked up at her as a breeze came by and she dropped the buck as we stood. She ran and we followed._

_She ended up in the clearing she was in before and her family was there. Emmett and I burst through the trees and saw Teddy, Ariel, and Sonja standing by Toby protectively. Bella was standing off to the side in a fighting stance. They were all still animals and Em and I smiled to ourselves. One by one, Teddy, Sonja, and Ariel ran away in different directions. I had my eyes set on Bella hungrily. Emmett was looking at Toby._

_Emmett started walking toward Toby who was scared stiff and I walked toward Bella. She growled loudly and Emmett and I looked at each other. Emmett kept taking small steps toward Toby and Bella pounced on him, knocking him down._

_She landed on his chest and Toby ran away as fast as he could- which was fast. Emmett punched Bella in the gut and she flew backward and landed on her feet- or…her paws. We were both stunned that that punch didn't kill her._

_I pulled myself out of that memory and looked at Emmett. "Oh my God…,"_

"_What, Edward?" Esme asked, concerned._

"_Emmett and I almost killed Bella and Toby."_

_Emmett's eyes widened and so did everyone else's._

"_What? No, I would never kill a kid- never." Em contradicted._

"_Emmett, remember when we stumbled upon a black jaguar during our weekend hunting trip?" He nodded. "That was Bella. And the bear cub was Toby."_

"_Oh my gosh! Toby, I am so sorry! I didn't mean-" Emmett tried apologizing but was cut off._

"_No harm done…anymore." Toby said with his hand up._

"_I have a question," I said looking at Toby. He raised his eyebrows telling me to continue. "Why was that one memory blurry; the one with Joseph's death and why was the other one after that not?"_

_Toby scrunched his nose up. "It's hard to explain but I'll try." He looked me in the eyes. "I'm guessing since it was her human day, her vision isn't as clear. She was also really close to dying so that could be a reason too." Toby shrugged._

_Bella did a small groan and shifted her weight a bit. We all quieted down and ran to her side. I was closest to her head, Toby was next to me. Carlisle was by her hands and Esme was next to him. Alice and Jasper were by her feet and Rosalie and Emmett were between them and Carlisle and Esme. Ariel, Sonja, and Teddy were by me by Bella's head._

_She stirred again and Carlisle was checking her vitals again to make sure if it was okay for her to wake. He looked back down at her and from everyone's minds I could see they all were really worried about her._

_Bella's eyelids fluttered…_


	10. chapt 10: Awake, Apologize

**Hey, everybody. I have some things to clear up for you: I don't know why, but my story was underlined. I did not underline it and I know that the lines get annoying so I'm sorry. I've tried to change it but it won't so, once again, I'm sorry. I haven't updated in a while because I've had writer's block for this story and I've been busy. Thank you for waiting and I'm sorry to have left you with a really important cliffhanger. I'm only going to say this one last time:**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, SM does.**

**Chapter 10:**

My head was throbbing and I kept hearing voices. I didn't know what they were saying but I did recognize who they belonged to. At one point, I heard Toby growl; he is so grounded.

I groaned and shifted my weight before I became too stiff. I tried to open my eyes and my eyelids fluttered, allowing some light to filter through to my eyes. I quickly shut my eyes again tightly. I heard whispers.

"Carlisle? Is she alright?" Esme had concern in her voice.

"Why isn't she waking?"

"It shouldn't take this long,"

"Wake up, wake up, wake up."

"It's too bright." I groaned, covering my eyes.

There were numerous chuckles and sighs of relief. I could tell that someone turned the lights down with the dimmer.

"There you go, Bella." Carlisle's voice came out.

I removed my hand and slowly opened my eyes. I almost gasped at seeing how close everyone was to me. I smiled. "I'm fine; can you all back up please? I feel crowded."

Almost everyone's eyebrows rose up, including my family's. They did as I complied, though.

"Bella, are you sure you're alright?" Edward asked.

I nodded. "Of course, yes. I'm not one to take injuries lightly. Why?"

"Well, it's just…you don't…sound like you." He tried to say. He looked confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked sitting up.

"Bella, do you remember how you sounded when you first met me?" Jasper asked.

I nodded. "Yes, my accent was just going away. Why?"

"That's what you sound like now."

My jaw dropped a little bit. "Oh, fiddlesticks! No! I don't want it to come back." My eyes started to water.

Toby ran over and hugged me gently for fear of hurting me. I squeezed him tightly against me and let the tears fall.

Jasper, Carlisle, and Esme all came over to comfort me.

"What's so bad about having an accent? I mean, you sound a little different but it's not that bad." Emmett confusedly brought up.

I sniffled and brought my head up to look at him. I looked at Carlisle because he was trying to talk to me through our minds.

_Is, he doesn't know. Is it alright if I…?_

I nodded at him. Esme was supporting me and rubbing my back gently. Jasper was just standing next to me for comfort. My family- minus Toby- don't know why I hate my accent either.

"Bella doesn't like her accent…because it reminds her too much of her parents and brother. Technically, she's all alone family wise even if she calls the members of Giant Clan her family." He explained.

I wiped my eyes and Toby backed away to give me space. Carlisle turned around toward me. "Bella, I just need to check on you, alright?"

I nodded and laughed a bit. "Just give me a little warning a second before you do something, I'd rather not kill you." I smiled.

Everyone else was lost. So, I filled them in: "I hate doctors and I like some space. It's instinct to protect myself when someone's too close."

Carlisle held up a small penlight and showed me. I nodded. He lifted my eyelid to check my eye color and see how big my pupil was. And, of course, to see if I could see the light.

"Good, your eyes are almost completely dark purple. You're healing, that's excellent. Uh, Bella, where's your pupil?" Carlisle turned the light off and stepped back from me.

"Shifters don't have pupils when they heal. My human blood isn't in my anymore at the moment. My shifter self is in control."

"Oh," Carlisle had a look of great understanding. "I know why your accent is back. Your mother was a full shifter and she had the accent. Your shifter half has the accent and your human self over-rid it. Since you're not completely human at the moment, your accent is back with your shifter blood." I nodded and he went and sat down in his office chair. "Bella, I think it's time for you to tell everyone about yourself."

I took a deep breath and instantly felt calm. A little too calm. I looked at Sonja pointedly. She shrugged guiltily. I rolled my eyes at her. I looked at Carlisle's family and began.

"My name isn't Isabella Swan. It's Isabella Marie Clara Jerkensin. I'm the first ever half-shifter. I am the most powerful one out there. I am 198. I was born in Chicago in 1810. Carlisle met me 90 years ago when I was 108. It was my human day and I was attacked; he helped me. Toby is my 9 year old son. I am the protector of Giant Clan. You actually all know me due to my reputation."

"Did you really kill 40 vampires your first year as protector?" Rosalie asked.

I reluctantly nodded. "If you were Giant Clan's protector and your kind was dying out, you would kill the threats as well."

"Did you ever think that maybe you killed harmless vampires? People who didn't deserve to be killed by you? Have you ever thought of yourself as a murderer?" Rosalie's voice was harsh and cold, causing Toby, Ariel, Teddy, Sonja, Edward, Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, and Alice to growl.

"I only got rid of the threats that actually tried to kill us. And, yes, everyday." I whispered the last part.

Teddy and Sonja each grabbed one of my hands and they looked at me levelly.

"Bella, you are not a murderer. You protected people. If you were a murderer, you wouldn't be a shifter; you'd be a Hacker. Relax; nothing's wrong with you." Teddy brushed some hair away from my face.

Tears started to fall from my eyes and Carlisle's family turned away to give us as much privacy as they could.

"Yeah, except for the fact that I don't age and I haven't got any parents or siblings anymore. Or even the fact that Joseph's death was my fault! No, you're right! Nothing's wrong with me!" My voice was cold, steely, and sarcastic with venom dripping off of every word. "Mother's death was my fault as well! If she hadn't fallen in love with Arthur, she wouldn't have had me and I wouldn't have encouraged her to turn human for him! Every member of Giant Clan that has died…it's my fault! It's my fault that I didn't save them!"

"Shut up," Jasper's voice rang.

I stared at him stunned and he glared at me angrily. "Excuse me?"

"I said, 'shut up.' Isabella, it is absolutely not your fault. Things happen for a reason and it was your mother's choice to turn human. You didn't know what was going to happen. Joseph chose to save you and risk his life for you. Nothing is your fault. There are too many members of Giant Clan for one person to protect. Even your mother couldn't protect them all. Bella, damn it, listen to me!" I had turned my head away and was shaking it. He came to my side and put his hands on each side of my face to turn it back to him. "Isabella Marie Clara Jerkensin," he said in a low, serious voice. "I may not be your family but I do consider you my little sister- even though you're older- and I do care for you. I don't want you to blame yourself. No one does!" He let go of my face and turned to Rosalie. "As for you, Rosalie, I don't think you should judge Bella. Just because she killed some vampires doesn't make her bad. She's not a murderer. We all slipped up before. Remember Royce?"

Rosalie was about to growl but I interrupted. "Jasper Whitlock! It's not Rosalie's fault! She didn't know I'd react the way I did! You should not have turned this on her. We all make mistakes and, from my perspective at least, that…," I covered Toby's ears. "..bastard deserved what he got. He shouldn't treat anyone that way." I smiled a small smile at Rosalie. "I'm not mad for your comment from before. Jasper, apologize."

"Why should I?" He grumbled. I uncovered Toby's ears.

"Jasper," I sounded like a scolding mother. "I know your weakness."

"Sorry, Rosalie," He said quickly.

"What's his weakness?" Emmett asked.

I shook my head with a tight smile. I saw that Rosalie was smiling at me apologetically. _I'm not mad, Rosalie. _I sent to her. She almost gasped out loud.

_Thank you…_ She sounded as though saying thank you was new to her.

"Emmett, I'm not going to tell." I told him before he was about to ask again.

"Everyone, Bella needs more rest. Bella, the longer you rest-" I interrupted Carlisle.

"The faster I heal. Thank you, Carlisle." I laid down and closed my eyes. I started to drift off, listening to the beeping of the heart monitor slowly fade away.


	11. Chapt 11: Race, Talk

CHAPTER 11:

I woke up several hours later to a quiet room. I looked around as much as I could because my neck was killing me. Carlisle was sitting at his desk working on some papers and my family and Carlisle's had probably gone to their houses. The only other person in the room was Edward and he was helping Carlisle.

It was quiet save the beeping of the heart monitor and the shuffling of papers.

I licked my chapped lips. "Carlisle," I cleared my throat because my voice came out a whisper. He had heard me though and came over to check how I was. Edward was watching with a careful eye.

"Bella, are you feeling any better?" Carlisle asked.

"Yeah, I think it's time to get it out." I tried to sit up.

"Edward," Carlisle instructed Edward just by calling his name. He came over and helped me stay up. He leaned me against him to support me. "Okay, Bella, I need to help out. You think you have the strength?"

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Just do it."

"Uh, Carlisle, what are you going to do?" Edward asked.

"We're getting my dagger out. I need to get the poison off of it. It absorbed the poison that was left over." I explained, bracing myself.

"Okay…Bella, I think you'll-"

"Got it. Just get it out, Carlisle," I interrupted him explaining to soundproof the room. I closed my eyes and turned my head to the side. I stiffened and Edward rubbed my shoulders soothingly. Carlisle grabbed my hand and I transferred some of my power and energy to him.

I didn't see but I felt him rip it out of my gut. I shrieked. It always hurts when someone removes something from you that can either help or hurt you. Tears welled up in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks.

I panted as my eyes opened. I looked at Carlisle as he disinfected my dagger. He handed it to me and I placed it in my leg, it's rightful place. I rested my head back against Edward chest and he smoothed my hair away from my face. I looked up at him.

"Are you alright?" he asked concernedly.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm just weak."

"I can't believe I didn't know who you are. I've studied up on you."

I laughed weakly. "And I can't believe that I didn't know who YOU are. I've met vampires constantly and I didn't notice the signs." I scoffed and shook my head at myself. "I'm an idiot at times."

I sat up straight and swung my feet over the hospital bed.

"Bella…are you sure you're alright?" Carlisle asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just…have to walk it off." I stood up straight and made my way to the office door. I turned around. "And thank you…Thank you both."

"Help her, Edward," Carlisle instructed softly. I sighed loudly, letting him know I heard. Edward came to my side and walked with me out of the hospital.

We walked down the street a bit and I turned to him. I smiled with an open mouth. "How…How did you find me tonight?"

"I followed you." He answered reluctantly.

"See, now that is hard to believe; I would've picked up your thoughts. Do you block your mind or something?"

"How far can you hear thoughts? I was pretty far back."

I bit my lip. "If I know the person, well…I can hear my family all the way in Florida. But that takes energy."

"Hmm." His eyes narrowed. "I'm so jealous," He joked.

I laughed. "Trust me, it gets annoying."

He looked interested. I smiled as I got an idea. "What?" He asked warily.

"Want to race?" I asked. I still had my accent but it was fading.

"Where and how?" He asked also excited.

"Mm, how about…racing to where you left your car before. At La Bella Italia? And I race my way and you race yours." I held my hand out to him. "Deal?"

He smirked and shook my hand. "Deal," I squeezed his hand a little harder than necessary. I smirked back and I let go of his hand only to turn into my alias form. As I was turning into my alias, I was grinning. He raised an eyebrow at me.

I stood next to him in a predatory stance. I was laughing to myself so I sounded like I was growling.

"On the count of three…" Edward said. I nodded. He got in a running stance. "1...2...3!"

I took off at three and so did he. I was going slow to be next to him and he smirked, speeding up. I sped up too and passed him quickly. I wound up at his car in front of La Bella Italia twenty minutes before him. I transfigured into my human form and leaned against the passenger door. I crossed my arms and looked in the direction Edward would be coming.

Edward showed up twenty minutes after me and didn't look in front of him. He was smiling and looking behind himself; looking to see how far behind I was. I cleared my throat, smiling, and he turned around to face me. His smile died out and I smirked.

"How…?" He pointed to me and then to the woodsy area he had emerged from.

"I didn't even use all my energy. I had, oh let's say, 2/3 energy left that I didn't use."

"Is that why you became Giant Clan's protector? You were able to outrun your victim and beat them to the target?" He came over to me and leaned against the hood.

"No. But that is one reason. The most important reason was that I could spot a threat a mile away. That's why part of the members live in other countries and states. I can always tell when there's a threat."

"C'mon. I should drive you home. Your family will be so happy you're alright." Edward opened the passenger door and went over to the driver side of the car.

"Actually," I got in the car and shut the door. "They already know." He looked at me confusedly. "Ariel probably saw it."

'YEP, I DID, ISABELLA.' Ariel spoke into my mind. I don't know who taught her how to project thoughts but she always came in at a good time- and sometimes bad.

I nodded. "Yeah, she saw."

Edward laughed. "And to think…I thought you were an average human,"

"With a potent scent." I added.

He sobered up. "Yeah…you do. Not many people know that their scents are potent."

"Please! I have senses stronger than your kind's."

"Now that you know I'm a predator to you…you probably don't want to go to Seattle with me." He looked a bit upset.

I looked at him. "What makes you think that?"

"I may hurt you…whether it's on purpose or by accident; I'm a constant danger to you."

"So am I to you. I don't care; I know how to take care of myself. We don't have to go to Seattle…we could go somewhere else." I shrugged giving him the option.

"We're here," He stated.

I looked out the window; we were at my house. I didn't leave the car. "Are you going to be at school tomorrow?"

"Yes, I have a paper due, as do you." He half-smiled. "Why don't you eat lunch with me?"

I did a small smile. "I'd love to." I opened the car door. "Oh, and tell Esme I'm fine. And thank everyone for their help." I got out of the car and closed the door.

I watched him drive out of my driveway and I went inside. Toby jumped at me immediately. I kissed the crown of his head and walked over to the couch. Everyone else knew I was home and safe. I plopped down on the couch and fell asleep instantly.

************************************************************************

Hey, I'm sorry I took so long. I've been busy with school and I got food poisoning and the flu. Bummer, right? Anyway, this story will take longer to come out because I'm taking it in a different direction and I have to set my mind straight. Thank you for being patient and I'm sorry for all the cliffhangers I've been leaving you with. It's in my nature to leave people wanting more out of the stories and having my fans hate me for not giving them what they want. LOL. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this short chapter… I'll try to write more next time. ;)


	12. Chapt 12: Lunch together

_A/N: Yay! Another chapter…after a month of writer's block. I'm kinda making it up as I go along a bit because the idea isn't really set in stone for the next couple chapters but…here it is. If it sucks, I'm sorry. I'm sort of dopey at the moment because I've been sick for about a week now- yeah, the flu and bronchitis. Horrible, right? Anyway, I do not own Twilight or the Beatles; unfortunately…_

_Chapter something:_

_I woke up and sat up only to find myself in bed, not on the couch where I had drifted into slumber before. Teddy must've carried me up. I stood and stretched, looking at my clock._

_I gasped and ran to my closet. I would be running late if I didn't hurry now! I put on a T-shirt with very short sleeves that was navy blue. I also had on skinny jeans and my Converse. I put my hair in low pigtails outlining the angles of my face and showed a little curl to my hair. I ran downstairs with my backpack on my back._

_Toby was already up and reading the paper._

"_You're going to be late," he sounded like a scolding father._

_I opened the fridge and grabbed a Snapple, taking a sip. "What're you up to?"_

"_Catching up on the daily news."_

"_Mm," I put the empty bottle in the recycling bin. "yeah, God forbid you miss anything Dilbert does." I smiled as I kissed the crown of his head. I opened the front door, looking at Toby still. "If you cause Charlie trouble, it's your head!"_

"_Don't forget to hide your accent, Mom." He changed his voice to sound like me with my accent._

_I laughed and closed the door. I went to run to my car but I saw a shiny, sliver Volvo in my driveway. Edward was leaning against the passenger side. I walked over to him and adjusted my backpack since it was slipping._

"_Care for a ride?" Edward opened the side door for me._

_I nodded. "Sure, just let me get something from my car."_

_He nodded and waited. I went to my car and got some money. I stuffed it in my pocket. I jogged over to the passenger side of Edward's car and slid into the seat, him closing the door behind me. As soon as he closed the door, he was right beside me in the driver's seat._

_I chuckled. "What if someone saw you?"_

_He shrugged as he started the car and pulled out of the driveway. "They didn't,"_

_I rolled my eyes._

"_I brought my jacket for you," he told me. "I didn't want you to get sick or something." I noticed that he wasn't wearing his jacket; just a light grey V-neck shirt with long sleeves._

_I snorted lightly and in a joking manner. "I'm not as delicate as you think."_

_He smirked. "Oh, really? Last I checked, you could get hurt."_

_I grumbled and put the jacket around myself._

_It was quiet for a while as we passed many trees and houses on the way to school._

"_What? No 'I'm-better-at-something-than-you' challenges today?" He joked._

"_I think of nothing that you could beat me at to keep your pride up." I smiled as he scowled jokingly._

"_You really think you destroyed my pride yesterday?"_

"_I could sense it. Trust me. I could tell what you were thinking." I tucked a strand of my longish bangs behind my ear._

"_I wonder what you think sometimes." He mumbled mostly to himself._

"_To be honest, I don't know what I think half the time."_

_He laughed and I smiled, liking the sound._

"_So, where's the rest of your family?" I asked._

"_Rosalie drove them," He answered as we parked next to a glossy red convertible with the top up. "Ostentatious, isn't it?"_

_I chuckled. "She give it a tune up?"_

"_Yeah, how'd you figure?"_

"_It may be an M3 but if Rosalie hadn't tuned it up, I bet she could have broken the car, trying to get it to go faster."_

_Edward walked up next to me and went with me to go to Jessica who had my coat hanging over her arm._

_I nodded a hello to Jessica. "Hey, Jess."_

_She handed me my jacket with no words spilling out of her mouth._

"_Good morning, Jessica." Edward greeted politely._

"_Eh…" Jess froze for a moment trying to gather her thoughts. "Hi," She looked over at me. "I guess I'll…see you in Trig." She gave me a meaningful look and I stifled a laugh. She wanted details and what was going through her mind was so odd and disgusting, in a way, that, to me, it was funny. To Edward; not so much._

"_Yeah, I'll see you there."_

_She walked away, pausing twice to peek over her shoulder in what was supposed to be an inconspicuous manner but she failed entirely._

"_What are you going to tell her?" Edward murmured._

_I laughed. "For a second, it seemed as though you told me my thoughts." Edward chuckled with me for a moment. "Actually, I think I'm just going to wing it." I shrugged and Edward walked me to my next class. I pulled off his jacket and handed it to him on the way._

"_So…? What're you going to say?" He folded his jacket over his arm._

"_Well…she wants to know if we're secretly dating and how I feel about you," I stated._

"_And your answer will be…?"_

"_Well, for the first- since your thoughts seem to like the idea- I could say we are. But for the second," I opened the door to my class and looked at him over my shoulder with a devilish grin. "You'll have to find out and agonize over until the time comes." He glared as I closed the door behind me._

_I sent him a thought: "I'll see you at lunch."_

_I sat down in my usual spot._

"_Hey, Bella," Mike greeted me from the seat in front of mine. "How was Port Angeles?"_

_I shrugged. "It was…" There were so many ways to describe that trip. "Alright." I finished lamely. "Jess got a really cute dress."_

"_Did she say anything about Monday?" Mike's eyes brightened. I smiled at his curious and excited expression._

"_She said she had a lot of fun." I assured him._

"_Really?"_

"_Most definitely,"_

_English class started by everyone handing in their reports. After that, it- plus Government- passed by in a fog; a little more than usual._

_As I suspected, Jessica was basically bouncing in her seat when she saw me walk into Trig. I almost laughed at the sight and sat down next to her, putting my bag on the floor._

"_Tell me everything!" She nearly shouted._

_I shrugged. "Nothing to tell,"_

"_Oh, please! There can't be nothing if you just spent last night with the hottest guy in school! And if he drove you to school! Now spill the beans! What happened last night?"_

"_He bought me dinner and brought me home."_

"_How'd you get home so fast?" She asked with skepticism in her voice as well as on her face. I dug into her mind and saw that Toby had mimicked my voice and talked to Jess on the phone before he and the rest of my family had come to the hospital for me._

"_He's an insanely fast driver- it scared me so much; it was terrifying!" I hoped he heard that…but of course, I was joking._

"_Was it like a date? Did you ask him to __rendezvous with you?"_

"_No, I was shocked to see him there."_

_Her lips puckered; she wanted more gossip to spread._

"_But he picked you up today for school?" she probed._

"_Another surprise," I explained. "He saw I didn't have a jacket last night."_

"_Are you two dating?"_

"_He offered to drive me to Seattle Saturday because my car broke down," I lied the last part casually. "Does that count?"_

_She nodded her head vigorously. "Yes,"_

"_Well, then, yes."_

"_W-o- w." She stressed the word into three syllables. "Edward Cullen,"_

"_Yep," I leaned back in my chair._

"_Wait!" She turned toward me completely. "Has he kissed you yet?"_

_I shook my head and fixed one of my pigtails. "No, it's not like that,"_

"_Do you think this Saturday…?" she moved her eyebrows up and down suggestively._

"_Doubt it,"_

"_What did you guys talk about?" She whispered. Mr. Varner had started teaching and, odds are, we weren't the only ones still talking._

"_Just stuff." I shrugged. "Random stuff. Mostly about school." I lied casually._

"_Bella," She whined almost silently. "Give. Me. Details."_

"_Okay, then. You should have seen the waitress fawn all over him; he didn't even notice."_

"_That's a good sign- was she pretty?"_

"_Yes- and probably about nineteen or twenty. Considering all that, since he didn't glance at her once, it was sort of…pathetic."_

"_Even better- he MUST like you."_

"_I think so but it's hard to tell with him. He's always so…cryptic." I threw that in for his benefit._

"_I don't know how you're able to be alone with him." She breathed._

_I chuckled quietly. "I can be around him because A) I don't drool over him- I don't think- and B) I look past what people look like and look at their personalities."_

"_But…he's so gorgeous,"_

"_That may be so but he has a really gentlemanly personality. There's a lot more to him than just looks…surprisingly." I joked about the last part with a smile._

"_How is that possible?"_

"_I can't really explain it. But he's even more gorgeous behind his face." I looked toward the front of the room. Over my lifetime, I have met dozens of vampires and I have only met a couple who weren't drinking human blood. Carlisle's family seems to be the only one where they don't slip every so often._

"_So, you like him?"_

"_Yes,"_

"_I mean, do you really like him?"_

"_Yes," I was beginning to blush…and I couldn't hide it!_

"_How MUCH do you like him?" Jess had had enough of the one syllable answers._

"_Too much." I whispered. "More than he likes me. But…truth be told…I don't see how I can help that." I sighed._

_Mr. Varner had, thankfully, called on Jessica for an answer to a problem. Soon after, the bell rang._

"_Today in English, Mike asked me if you talked about the date at all." I told her. I had to get away from the subject of Edward._

_Jess stood straight with a smile on her face. "Shut up! What did you say?!"_

"_I told him you had a good time." I shrugged._

"_What did he say?"_

"_He had a great time."_

"_For real?!"_

"_Word," I laughed._

_Jess chuckled. "Tell me every thing you two talked about and said about it. I want to know everything!" She hooked her arm with mine and pulled me to our next class._

_I laughed and told her word for word what we had said. After that, we spent most of Spanish talking about Mike's facial expressions and such. His body language, so on and so forth. After class, we walked out and Edward was waiting for me, leaning against the wall. I stopped next to him and Jess looked at us with a small smile on her face._

"_I'll…call you later, Bella." She nodded to Edward. "Edward." She looked at me and winked._

_I chuckled as she left. I turned to Edward. "Ready for lunch?"_

_He moved away from the wall and nodded. We walked to the cafeteria in silence. I couldn't think of anything to say and I'm guessing he was biding his time._

_We walked through the lunch line rush and it was like my first day all over again; everyone stared. He led the way, still not speaking._

_I put a hand on his arm and he turned to me with a small look of shock; he wasn't used to that gesture from someone outside his family._

"_Before you stock up on food, remember to grab things that you would "eat."" I put quotes around eat because we all know he doesn't eat anything. "I won't be taking much." I had read his mind and knew he had planned on buying food for both of us._

_He shrugged. "Cheater," he muttered playfully. I chuckled._

_He grabbed a tray and placed two slices of pizza, apple, lemonade, Snapple, and a brownie on it._

_We paid and he led the way to the table we had occupied that one time before. From the other end of the long table, a group of seniors gazed at us in amazement as we sat down. Edward was oblivious._

"_Take what you like," he gently shoved the tray my way._

"_I'm curious," I picked up the apple and balanced it on my finger, twirling it. "What would you do…if someone dared you to eat human," I tossed the apple up in the air and caught it. "food?"_

"_You're always curious," He grimaced, shaking his head._

_I smiled. "You bet." I hoped he'd actually do it…_

_He glared at me, holding my gaze as he picked up the slice of pizza and bit into it. He chewed quickly and swallowed. I watched, acting shocked and trying not to laugh._

"_If someone dared you to eat dirt, you could, couldn't you?" he asked condescendingly._

"_I did once. Every little kid makes mud pies. Of course with mine, well, let's just say it tasted pretty good." he stared at me. "Yeah, I'm weird." I spun the apple. "It wasn't that bad."_

_He laughed. "I'm not surprised."_

"_I am sorry, though."_

"_For?"_

"_Making you eat that. I wanted to see if you would even though you know the consequences."_

"_You know." he accused._

_I smiled and nodded in an evil way._

_Something caught his attention over my shoulder. "Jessica's analyzing everything I do- she'll break it down for you later." He shoved the tray over back my way and I noticed that the mention of Jessica seemed to bring the former irritation back to his features._

_I picked up the pizza and took a bite, keeping my eyes away from his and grabbed the Snapple to wash down the taste. I played with the cap, doing something to keep my eyes away from his._

"_So the waitress was pretty, was she?" he asked casually._

_Skip to the point! I did one chuckle. "You really didn't notice, did you?"_

"_No. I wasn't paying attention. I had a lot on my mind."_

_I stopped playing with the cap to look at him. "Yeah, her disturbing thoughts…and other people's as well."_

"_Something you said to Jessica…well, it bothered me." He refused to be distracted. His voice was husky and he glanced up from under his lashes with troubled eyes._

"_I'm not surprised you heard something you didn't like. You know what they say about eavesdroppers." I started balancing the apple on the back of my hand and flipping my hand to catch it. I did that several times to keep my eyes away. I would not get caught._

"_I warned you I'd be listening."_

"_And I warned you that you don't want to know everything I'm thinking. I don't even what to know everything I'm thinking." I mumbled that last part to myself._

"_You did…," he agreed, but his voice was still rough. "You're aren't precisely right, though. I do want to know what you're thinking- everything. I just wish…you didn't think some things."_

_I snorted. "That's quite a distinction."_

"_But that's not really the point at the moment."_

"_Then what is?" We were inclined toward one another. He had his large white hands folded under his chin; I leaned forward, my right hand cupped around my neck. My left hand was holding the apple loosely. I noticed how his eyes drifted to my neck for a moment and then back to my eyes. We were in our own little bubble, not paying attention to anyone or anything around us._

"_Do you truly believe that you care more about me than I do for you?" he murmured, leaning closer to me as he spoke, his dark golden eyes piercing._

_My breathing almost became unsteady but I did not revert my gaze. "Would you stop?" My voice held annoyance._

_He blinked and backed up a bit, not much, though. "Stop what?"_

"_Dazzling me," I clarified. I still had not moved._

"_Oh," he frowned._

"_Look, I know it's in your nature but…you gotta stop. I don't try to dazzle you." Okay, that's a tiny lie…Ah, hell, I try to dazzle him all the time; I succeed sometimes._

_He looked at me skeptically. "Are you going to answer the question?"_

_I sighed and looked down at the table for a moment before returning my gaze to his soft golden one. "Yes,"_

"_Yes, you're going to answer the question or yes, you really think that?" He was irritated again._

"_Yes, I really think that." I was getting annoyed; it felt like he was playing a game with me. He was quiet. I sat back as did he. I kept my eyes cast down and I traced the table pattern with my eyes over and over again. I stubbornly kept my mouth shut; I was not going to be the one to break the silence between us._

_Finally he spoke, his voice velvet soft. "You're wrong."_

_I looked up at him to see that his eyes were gentle._

"_You can't know that." I was equally quiet and I shook my head lightly. I sighed. "You can't know that." I repeated a little stronger._

"_What makes you think so?" His topaz eyes were penetrating- trying futilely to pull the truth out of my mind._

_I stared back, trying to think of a way to explain to him. As I searched for the words, I could see him become impatient; frustrated by my silence, he started to scowl. I laughed one small laugh._

"_Let me think," I insisted. His expression cleared, satisfied that I was planning on answering. He was faking patience. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I pressed my hands together and closed my fingers around each other._

"_Aside from the obvious, sometimes…" I hesitated. "It seems like you're trying to say goodbye when you're saying something else. Like the other day, you thought for me to run away but you were also thinking that I should stay."_

"_Perceptive," he whispered. There was the anguish again, surfacing as he confirmed my fear and knowledge. "That's exactly why you're wrong though." he began to explain but then he narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, 'the obvious'?"_

"_Look at me," I stated unnecessarily since he was already staring. "I'm completely ordinary. I look completely human, I don't have the Godly glow of the others of my kind. Compared to all the other shifters out there…I'm a freak; I'm ugly. And look at you." I waved my hand at him, gesturing and pointing out his perfection. "We're completely different."_

_His brow creased angrily for a moment, then smoothed as his eyes took on a knowing look. "You don't see yourself clearly, you know. I'll admit you're different than other shifters," he chuckled. "But you didn't hear what every human male in this school were thinking on your first day."_

_I pointed to my head. "I did…But to humans, of course I'm pretty to them; it's the shifter way. Shifters are supposed to be wanted by everybody, to be accepted. Most popular people are Shifters. But if I wasn't half-Shifter, nobody would think of me that way. I'm mostly human anyway in my appearance." I picked at the brownie and threw the crumbs at the plate bit by bit angrily. It wasn't like flailing, just stiff movements._

"_Trust me just this once- you are the opposite of ordinary."_

_I was a little too angry and depressed to have as much pleasure as I would have liked when I saw the look in his eyes. I quickly reminded him of my earlier argument._

"_But I'm not saying goodbye." I pointed out._

_He leaned forward suddenly, resting his arms on the table. "Don't you see? That's what proves me right. I care the most, because if I can do it"- he shook his head, seeming to struggle with the thought- "if leaving is the right thing to do, then I'll hurt myself to keep from hurting you, to keep you safe."_

_I glared and leaned forward on the table, keeping eye contact. "And you don't think I would do the same?"_

"_You'd never have to make the choice."_

"_I have had to protect you numerous times already! Over the past month, werewolves, vampire hunters, Hackers- they've all been after you. I have had to deal with them constantly to keep you and your family safe. Your secret and your lives. My son- my nine year old child- has risked his life as well, trying to help! So, don't you DARE think that I wouldn't risk my life for you!" I growled at a level that only he would be able to hear._

_He looked shocked. "I understand the vampire hunters but why Hackers and werewolves?"_

"_Vampires are tasty treats to werewolves and Hackers feel threatened by your kind. Most Hackers have had to fight the Volturi. So, they want to destroy the vampire race."_

"_I don't like the idea of you fighting Hackers. You almost died before."_

"_Lyle was a different case! He got on the inside; he tricked us. That's nearly impossible but he was smarter than all the other Hackers. He was the toughest one I've had to face; I can handle all the other ones." I was starting to calm._

"_Nevertheless, protecting you seems to be a full-time job now. You may think you can do it by yourself but every once in a while, you'll need the extra help. Therefore, it requires my constant presence."_

"_You do realize that no one's tried to do away with me today," I reminded him, grateful to be away from the argument we were about to have._

"_Yet." he added._

"_Yet." I agreed; who knows? Maybe someone will attack later._

"_I have a question for you."_

"_Go ahead."_

"_Do you really need to go to Seattle this Saturday or was that just a ploy to get out of the dance?"_

_I narrowed my eyes at him. "You know I still haven't forgiven you for the Tyler thing yet," I warned him. "It's your fault he deluded himself into thinking I'd go to prom with him. He still won't take me seriously when I say I'm not going."_

"_You know he would've found another way to ask you- I just wanted to see your face." He chuckled._

"_I can still live up to what I wrote before; remember?" I smiled when he stopped chuckling._

"_If I'd have asked you, would you have turned ME down?" he changed the subject a bit, for which I am thankful._

"_Possibly." I admitted._

"_How come?" He cocked his head to the side._

"_The music they play at dances these days is horrible. I miss the dances of the olden days; the times when I was a kid. We would waltz in suits and gowns; it was so fun and sophisticated." I reminisced._

_Edward chuckled. "How old are you again?"_

"_198."_

_He shook his head with a crooked smile. "You are something else."_

"_I'm old, that's what I am." He laughed and I savored the sound._

"_So you won't go to the dances because of the music?"_

"_That and I just don't like dances of this time. I'm used to the old way, the way I was taught."_

_He nodded. "If the dance was like that, then would you have accepted if I'd asked?"_

"_It depends but I think I would have said yes to you." I surrendered and let him hear what was on my mind. "I would find a way to get out of it, though."_

"_Why would you do that?"_

"_It may be a shock but…I can't dance, anymore."_

"_That wouldn't be a problem." He was very confident. "It's all in the leading." He saw that I was about to protest and he cut me off. "But you never told me- are you resolved on going to Seattle, or do you mind if we do something different?"_

"_I'm open to alternatives." I allowed. "But I do have a favor to ask."_

_He looked wary, as he always did when I asked an open-ended question. "What?"_

"_Can I drive?"_

_He frowned. "Why?"_

"_Well, for one thing, when my family found out I was going to Seattle, I was going alone. So if my car stays while I'm gone, it'll be suspicious. And second, Toby just fixed the engine and I REALLY want to test it out." I explained in a rush. "Also because you're REALLY slow."_

_He looked at me shocked. "I'm slow? I'M slow?" I nodded. He shook his head. "Unbelievable…" His face became really serious. "Won't you want to tell your family that you're spending the day with me?"_

"_With my family, less is always more." I was definite of that. "Where are we going, anyway?"_

"_The weather will be nice so I'm staying out of the public eye…and you could stay with me if you'd like to."_

"_Giving me a choice…oh, and who said chivalry was dead?" I asked rhetorically. I got him to crack a smile. "Of course I'll stay. All the vampires I've met have never let me see them in the sunlight so it'd be great to know what the fuss is about." I read his mind and beat him to it. "And I don't mind being alone with you."_

"_You should tell your family, though."_

"_And I would do that because…?" I don't want them flipping out on me and bombarding me with questions._

_His eyes were fierce. "To give me some small incentive to bring you back."_

"_I'll take my chances."_

_He exhaled angrily, and looked away._

"_Let's talk about something else." I suggested._

"_What do you want to talk about?" he asked. He was still annoyed._

_I looked around the room and caught the eyes of Alice, staring at me. The others were staring at Edward. I winked at Alice and Jasper and Alice giggled a bit. Jasper smirked. I turned back toward Edward._

"_You can thank Emmett for punching my gut that weekend you met up with my family while hunting. He helped me get rid of the bad blood I had."_

_I could hear Emmett trying to cover up his laughter and I heard him whisper a 'sorry' meant for my ears._

_Edward looked back at me. "Bad blood?"_

_I made a face. "Yeah, bears aren't really in season."_

"_Ours were fine. Grizzly is Emmett's favorite." Edward smiled crookedly._

"_Toby got all the good ones. I got most of the dear and that one bad bear." I grimaced and took a swig of Snapple. "What's your favorite?"_

_He raised an eyebrow. "Mountain lion."_

"_Hmm. They're alright, I guess. You should take a trip up to Canada; they have the best cats and bears up there. And they have moose!"_

_Edward laughed. "You like moose?"_

_I shrugged. "They have a unique flavor. But…they put up no fight. If you want a quick meal, they're the best. Otherwise, I go for cats."_

"_You do realize that you're having one of your own kind. You transfigure into a cat."_

_I waved my hand, dismissing it. "Cats kill one another all the time; me attacking one of them makes no difference."_

"_Early spring is the best time, though, for bears. They're just coming out of hibernation. It's Emmett's favorite bear season." He smiled, remembering some joke._

"_Nothing more fun than an irritable grizzly bear." I agreed, nodding and smiling._

_He snickered. "Tell me what you're really thinking, please."_

"_I'm trying to picture you hunting but I can't. You seem too classy to get your hands dirty. Emmett- oh, yeah. I can see him but you? No, not you."_

"_That's because I don't just tackle and eat, I try not to get dirty. Emmett acts like a bear; crazy and vicious."_

_I did a small involuntary shiver. "I remember." I subconsciously rubbed my abdomen where Emmett had sucker punched me. I peeked over my shoulder to look at him and, thankfully, he wasn't looking my way. Edward followed my gaze and chuckled. I looked back at him._

"_Let me guess…you're like the cat?"_

"_Or so they tell me," he added lightly. "Perhaps our preferences are indicative."_

_I smiled. "Perhaps. I mean, that's how Shifters get their aliases. Their personalities form what they become. I'm graceful and powerful like a jaguar." I did one small laugh, realizing something. "You are what you eat."_

_Edward laughed with me. "I guess so."_

"_You ever think we could hunt together?" I asked almost hesitantly._

"_Absolutely not!" His face turned whiter than it usually was and his eyes were suddenly furious. I fixed my ponytail. He leaned back, folding his arms across his chest._

"_Afraid you might scare me with your crazy side?" I joked. He didn't take it as a joke._

"_If scaring you was what I'm worried about, I'd take you out tonight." His voice was cutting. "You NEED a healthy dose of fear. Nothing could be more beneficial for you."_

"_You do realize that you almost ate me last time; you don't scare me."_

"_Last I remember, you ran away."_

"_I transfigured back into myself on the way home; if I hadn't, you would've found out. I also didn't want to hurt you. If you're worried about accidentally hunting me again, you don't have to worry." I stood up. "I can take care of it if that ever happens again." I moved out of the way and pushed the chair in, keeping my hands on the back and keeping my eyes glued to his as he glared at me. His glare could chill you to the bone but it had no effect on me. "Come on. We're going to be late."_

_I put my bag over my shoulder and dumped the food in the garbage. I waited for Edward to catch up with me. There was some people left in the cafeteria so he couldn't use his speed. He got up and walked over to me and the door at a slow, human pace._

_By the time he reached me, he had calmed down. We walked down to Biology together, side by side._


	13. Biology, Gym

Chapter something or other:

Everyone stared at us as we walked in side by side to our lab table. Edward took his chances and didn't angle his chair away from me. Instead, he sat so close, our arms were almost touching. Yeah, that'll keep my attention on the teacher! (note sarcasm)

Mr. Banner backed into the room, bringing a tall metal frame on wheels that held a heavy-looking outdated TV and VCR. Today was a movie day. He placed the tape into the VCR and headed to the back of the room to turn the lights off.

As soon as darkness cascaded around us all, I felt this…electric thrill run down my spine. I have never been more aware of Edward in my entire time here in Forks. I couldn't keep my attention on the video. All my senses were concentrating on Edward. I could literally feel my pupils getting larger. They practically covered my whole iris. I felt something poke my bottom lip and I ran my tongue over my teeth. The fangs that normally come out before a hunt have, indeed, appeared. My mother told me of this once.

She had told me that when your senses are going crazy and your canines grow to your alias's length, you're filled with passion and desire. Lucky me, my fangs stayed small. But I was worrying. I had a very strong urge to reach over and stroke his cheek just once. To resist, I balled my fists and crossed my arms across my chest.

As the opening credits appeared, my eyes moved of their own accord. I noticed that Edward was sitting in the same position. Down to the last detail: his eyes glancing in my direction. I smiled a closed-mouth smile as I saw this. He smiled back. I almost smiled a bigger smile but I looked back at the TV before I showed my fangs and did something I shouldn't have done.

The hour seemed endless! I couldn't concentrate on the movie and the electric current between Edward and I never went away or faded. I noticed that he was never able to relax either. I breathed a sigh of relief as Mr. Banner turned the lights on at the end of class. As everyone stood, I cracked my knuckles my pushing my fists together; something Joseph had taught me. Rest his soul.

"Well, that was interesting." Edward murmured. His voice was dark and his eyes were cautious.

My fangs shrunk back to normal and I blinked rapidly to adjust my eyes. "Definitely…interesting." I agreed, uncertain. Did he feel it too?

"Shall we?"

I stood, picking my bag up, and walking out of the room with him. Time for gym. Yay! (note more sarcasm) "I have a feeling I'm going to hate gym today." I mumbled to myself.

Edward chuckled. I turned to say goodbye to him as we came to the door and his face startled me- his expression was torn, almost pained, and so fiercely beautiful that I wanted to touch him again. My goodbye was stuck in my throat.

He lifted his hand, hesitant, a battle raging in his eyes. He swiftly brushed his fingertips down my cheekbone. His skin was as icy as ever, but the trail his fingers left on my skin felt like fire only….it didn't burn. I had to control my animal instinct from surfacing. I regulated my pupil size and my canines stayed the same size. He turned and quickly walked away from me, without a word.

I watched him leave and then walked into the gym, my hand going to my cheek, following the burning trail. I smiled softly to myself as I looked in the direction he had left in.

As I changed, I completely spaced. I didn't notice anything around me until I was handed a racket. I saw other kids eyeing me, like they wanted to be on my team but were afraid I'd hog the limelight. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I was swinging my racket around in circles in front of me (twirling it like a baton twirler) when Mike came to stand beside me.

"Want to be partners?" he asked. Even though this kid had grotesque thoughts, he was nice.

"Sure, Mike." We found a team to face and a court to play on.

"Don't worry, I'll keep out of your way." Mike was so smug. He never really saw me play anything before. He thought he could show off his "awesome" skills and make me fall for him. Ha! That's total bullshit. He isn't my time. Plus, he's way, way, WAY younger than me; it'd be gross.

After a while, Mike was getting on my nerves. The birdie (ha, ha, shuttlecock. Sorry, I just think that's a funny word. It also means birdie. Badminton birdie, not other birdies) was coming to me and I got ready to swing at it but he jumped in front of me and hit it. I raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He turned to smile at me and I smiled back kindly but my thoughts screamed "Let me hit the freaking birdie at least just once!" He always stole the shots. That's why the other team kept hitting it to me; they didn't think it was fair.

During the couple minutes of gym and the remainder of the game, Mike managed to reach for the birdie and wind up hitting my head. I didn't act like a wuss, it didn't hurt! I didn't act angry, otherwise…you don't want to know. I just picked the birdie up since the game was over- the other team won- and hand it to Coach Clapp (Ha-ha! Am I the only one who thinks the coach's name is hilarious?! Think about it for a second: Clapp.) along with my racket.

As we walked off the court, Newton had the urge to dig some information out of me. "So,"

"So what?" I challenged nicely.

"You and Cullen, huh?" he asked, his tone rebellious. The irritation built up inside me, though I hid it well.

Damn it, Jessica! "That is none of your business, Mike." I warned, almost growling. He had no right to bud into my business in which it doesn't concern him.

"I don't like it," he muttered anyway.

"I don't care if you don't! You don't have to like him. It's got nothing to do with you." I snapped. If I were allowed to bite his head off, I would. But then Jess would be mad. Wait, why do I care about that? It doesn't matter…but then again, I'd be kicked out of Giant Clan if I did. I don't want that.

Mike disregarded what I said. "He looks at you like…like you're something to eat,"

I raised an eyebrow, a smile creeping onto my face. I laughed, despite myself. Mike glowered at me but I just ran off to go get changed.

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Hey, okay, I'm sorry 'bout the long, long, LONG wait. But I've had writer's block and I sprained my wrist just last week so…I'm suffering and I'm in pain for you guys. I have to use my wrist to update because I need to be able to move my hand. SO, just so you guys stay fans and don't hate me, I'm in pain. I'm putting aside my agony for your happiness. Aren't I nice? The next chapter will hopefully be better and longer. Ciao!


	14. The Drive Home

I know; total shock, right?

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I dressed quickly, stumbling a bit as I left the locker room. I was still laughing a bit over how right Mike was and how clueless he was about it at the same time. I searched the area for Edward's mind and found him leaning against the side of building, waiting for me- thinking about my gym class. He had eavesdropped again to see how I was in gym: so basically, he saw Mike hit me with the racket.

I walked right up to him, knowing I was the one he was waiting for. "Hi," I acted polite and not angry that he saw what happened. I gave him a grin.

"Hello," he greeted. He had a glint in his eye that was teasing. "How was gym?"

"Why don't you just ask yourself since you know already?" I smiled. "Busted…" I chuckled.

Edward was about to speak but, apparently, he was listening to the same banter as I.

'I HATE him. I wish he would die. I wish he would drive that shiny car off a cliff. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Stick to his own kind- to the freaks.'

I shook my head, rolling my eyes.

"Newton's getting on my nerves." Edward and I said in unison.

I chuckled.

"So, how's your head?" He brought up innocently.

My smile went away and I frowned. "You should not have listened in. It is wrong- you know that." We started walking toward his car. "I mean, you don't see me listening in to people's thoughts."

He gave me a pointed stare.

"On purpose." I added.

He rolled his eyes, half-smiling. "Sure, Bella, sure." He chuckled.

I skipped a step, hesitating in my walking as we approached a group of guys crowding around Rosalie's M3. We were ignored as we got into Edward's Volvo.

We tried getting out but the guys would not move and Edward's "scary stare" was lost from the tinted back window.

"Want me to try?" I suggested.

He waved his hand at me telling me to go for it. I got out of the car and whistled at them to get their attention.

They all stared at me in annoyance and appreciation.

"Mind moving out of the way?" I asked politely.

None of them moved.

I rolled my eyes and glared, gritting my teeth and tensing my jaw. They seemed scared enough and they backed away from both cars, leaving the parking lot. I got back into the car with a smile on my face.

Edward had a smile on his face, obviously holding in laughter, and backed out, driving me home.

"Are you still mad?" He asked.

"Yes." Not really.

"Will you forgive me if I apologize?"

"Maybe, if you mean it- And if I can drive this Saturday."

"Deal." He stared right into my eyes. "I'm sorry, Bella." It seemed like he couldn't look away from my eyes. Just the same in reverse… "And I'll be on your doorstep bright and early Saturday."

I nodded. "Don't drive to my house, though. I don't want to have to explain a Volvo. I don't think Toby would let me go if he knew I would be with…" I trailed off. I was so used to saying 'vampire' as an insult but now I can't even say it at all.

"A vampire." Edward finished, knowing what I was going to say.

"Yes. He's a very protective 9 year old."

"I imagine so since he almost saw you die."

"Not because of that. He sort of HAS to be protective. He's next in line for Giant Clan's protector."

He stared at me speechless. "You're going to put your 9 year old son in charge of protecting an entire clan?"

"It's only if I take the road less traveled: turn human on my 200th birthday."

"Will you?" He asked, keeping his eyes forward.

It took a moment for me to respond. "I leaning toward no. I might even take the road never traveled. But I'm not too sure at this point- my whole life is jumbled up…"

He parked in front of the house. "What exactly is the road never traveled?"

"Why did you say we can't hunt together?" I responded with another question.

"Just like every other immortal, we give ourselves to our senses. We don't think- just hunt. If you were anywhere near when I went hunting…" He shook his head, running his fingers through his hair.

"If you remember, I was there."

"Exactly and look what happened: I started to hunt you. On a longer hunt, I think I may actually hurt you if you came."

I looked at him with sad eyes. I bit my lip, wondering if it was okay to tell him. Debating, I realized that it was. "Teddy almost killed Charlie." I stared at him and into his eyes when his head swiveled to look at me. "The entire clan was out hunting in a major place down in Oregon and Charlie was there, visiting a friend. He went hunting for dear and his scent was to Teddy's liking. If I hadn't been there, Charlie would be dead, Teddy would be a Hacker, and the clan would have fallen apart. I'm the only one whose able to keep their head while hunting."

"What do you mean; Teddy would be a Hacker?" He didn't know the transformation.

"When a Shifter gets thirsty and drinks human blood, they are not Shifters any more- they turn into Hackers. Once a Shifter has a taste of pure human blood, they crave it constantly- they are always hungry and they always go after humans."

"What did you do to stop Teddy?"

"Theodore is a strong man, Edward. He can keep his head but he does lose it. I knew if a loved one was hurt, he would go to them. Theodore lunged at Charlie and I jumped in the way, taking the blow." I stared off to the side, remembering what had happened as if it were yesterday. "I was injured for three weeks, even with advanced healing. But as soon as Theodore realized I wasn't his prey, he got out of his bloodlust and helped me. He had almost eaten my jugular." I pulled down my collar to show a scar on my neck, running diagonal across it and going down and past my collarbone. "This is the scar he gave me the day of the attack."

Edward was gripping the steering wheel subconsciously, teeth grinding together. He was upset that someone I had trusted almost murdered me.

"I'm alive so it doesn't matter. The past is the past and what was forgiven is forgotten." I sounded so calm and bored.

We just had a soft stare down for a while. All of a sudden, I felt my pupils dilate and my canines grew, poking my bottom lip. The electrical hum- the same from Biology- showed up between us and I noticed Edward's breathing hitched where mine stopped all together.

I just wanted to reach over and touch him at least ONCE. But I knew that one touch would lead to another and that would lead to more- so much more. And it was forbidden- for us, at least. I suppressed the urge to lean over and press my lips to his- I could tell he was the same.

I drew in a ragged breath, closing my eyes and facing forward. Edward's breathing slowed down.

"Bella, I think you should go now." Edward's soft voice rang out.

I internally thanked him and immediately got out of the car, taking my bag with me. The window rolled down. I looked back to see Edward leaning toward me.

"Oh, and, Bella?"

"Yes?"

"Tomorrow's my turn."

"Turn for what?"

"Asking the questions." After that, he drove off.

I walked up to my door to enter Charlie's home. My cheek felt like it was burning with no pain- the same spot where Edward had touched before. The electricity was a thrill to me.

I smiled. Even though I wanted him by my side now, which he wasn't, I was happy- I would see him tomorrow.

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Okay, I don't know what's wrong but all of a sudden, I felt the urge to write more of this.

People have wanted me to continue it and every day I get reviews and viewers so I thought: why not?

Also because the idea was running through my head and wouldn't leave. So I hope you're all happy…I might write more- depends if I have time…


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